Bernard Rwehururu served in various Ugandan militaries from 1965 until 2013, including under the governments of Milton Obote, Idi Amin, Tito Okello, and Yoweri Museveni.
25 Facts About Bernard Rwehururu
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In 1985, the new Ugandan government was overthrown by its own military; Bernard Rwehururu subsequently returned from exile and joined the Uganda National Liberation Army.
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Bernard Rwehururu rose through the ranks of the NRA and its successor, the Uganda People's Defence Force, over the next decades.
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Bernard Rwehururu was born to Nathan Kyamwonyo around 1941 in Ruhoko, Rugarama Sub-county, Ntungamo District.
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Bernard Rwehururu's parents were Protestant Christians, but he defied them to convert to Catholicism when he was 15.
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Bernard Rwehururu was eventually appointed head of a military tribunal against economic sabotage in Busoga and the eastern provinces.
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Bernard Rwehururu argued that he himself was a victim of Amin's regime, referencing an incident when he was almost sentenced to death during Amin's rule.
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Bernard Rwehururu was regarded as one of the most competent Ugandan commanders during the war, with then-rebel leader and later Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni describing Rwehururu as one of the Uganda Army officers who gave the Tanzanians and their rebel allies a "lot of trouble".
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Bernard Rwehururu attempted to improve the defenses along the border to prepare for the upcoming Tanzanian operation.
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Bernard Rwehururu was frustrated by his superior officers such as UA chief of staff Yusuf Gowon who did not take his warnings and planning seriously.
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On 21 January 1979, the Tanzanians launched a cross-border attack on Mutukula, where Bernard Rwehururu's battalion was stationed.
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Bernard Rwehururu subsequently withdrew his battalion to its barracks in Masaka.
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The TPDF stormed Masaka on the next day, and what remained of the Ugandan garrison was routed; Bernard Rwehururu later argued that he "lost control" of the situation.
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Bernard Rwehururu first moved to Sudan before relocating to Zaire.
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Bernard Rwehururu was among these forces, but the ex-Uganda Army troops were never able to substantially expand their operations beyond West Nile District.
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Bernard Rwehururu later commented that he could not "stop admiring his wife for her love and courage".
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Bernard Rwehururu subsequently returned from exile, and joined the UNLA under the new President Tito Okello.
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However, Okello's regime was toppled by Museveni's National Resistance Army in 1986, whereupon Bernard Rwehururu defected to the NRA.
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Bernard Rwehururu served in various positions in the NRA and its successor organization, Uganda People's Defence Force, including Defence Attache at the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya.
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Bernard Rwehururu was eventually appointed Commandant of the Uganda Military Academy in Kabamba, the "most respected infantry training schools" in Uganda.
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Bernard Rwehururu retired from the military with the rank of brigadier in November 2013.
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Bernard Rwehururu had long suffered from hypertension and diabetes, and these ailments worsened in his last years.
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Bernard Rwehururu was survived by his wife Rosemary and eight children.
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Bernard Rwehururu married his wife Rosemary in 1969; the two were temporarily separated from 1979 into the 1980s due to his exile.
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None of Bernard Rwehururu's children opted to join the military, a decision he respected.