By Karim Were
Uganda’s military says the suspension takes immediate effect and will remain in place until outstanding defence and military matters between Kampala and Ankara are resolved
KAMPALA — The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has suspended all defence and military cooperation with Türkiye, citing unresolved issues between the two countries in a decision announced on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
The suspension takes immediate effect, according to a statement issued by Colonel Chris Magezi, the Acting Director of Defence Public Information at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and the UPDF.
“The Uganda People’s Defence Forces has with immediate effect suspended all and any Defence and Military cooperation with the Republic of Türkiye,” Magezi said in the statement.
He added that the measure would remain in force “until outstanding issues of mutual defence and military cooperation between the two countries are resolved.”
The UPDF did not specify what those outstanding issues are, nor did it provide a timetable for restoring military cooperation.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Uganda and Türkiye, including a public dispute involving Ugandan government critic Fred Kajubi Lumbuye and a demonstration by supporters of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) outside the Turkish Embassy in Kampala on Friday.
However, the UPDF’s statement did not mention Lumbuye, the demonstration or any specific diplomatic dispute as the reason for the suspension. Reports linking the military decision to those developments should therefore be treated as context rather than an officially confirmed explanation.
Suspension takes immediate effect
The wording of the UPDF statement indicates that the measure applies broadly to defence and military cooperation between Uganda and Türkiye.
The army did not identify individual programmes, agreements or activities that have been suspended.
That leaves several aspects of the bilateral security relationship unclear, including the status of military training, personnel exchanges, defence-industry engagements, military exercises and other forms of defence cooperation previously established between the two countries.
The UPDF’s decision is also different from a severance of diplomatic relations.
Uganda and Türkiye continue to maintain diplomatic relations, and the latest military announcement does not state that diplomatic, economic or other civilian cooperation has been suspended.
The distinction is significant because the two countries have developed a broader bilateral relationship covering areas beyond defence and security.
Development follows tensions over Fred Lumbuye
The military announcement came one day after PLU supporters marched towards the Turkish Embassy in Kampala demanding that Türkiye hand over Fred Lumbuye, a Ugandan social media critic who has been based in Türkiye.
The demonstration on Friday, September 18, was led by PLU Secretary General Fadil Twalla and followed a directive from Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and PLU chairman.
The protesters called for Lumbuye to return to Uganda to face charges.
According to reporting by Daily Monitor, the demonstration was also linked to opposition by PLU supporters to reports that Lumbuye’s lawyers had applied for asylum in Türkiye.
The Turkish Embassy had announced that it would close on September 18 because of the planned demonstration.
The embassy’s notice, reported before the protest, said the diplomatic mission would close because of the demonstration planned near its premises.
The Associated Press reported that hundreds of Ugandans participated in the demonstration and that Lumbuye’s case had become a source of tension between Uganda and Türkiye.
Fadil Twalla said the protesters were seeking Lumbuye’s extradition and maintained that their action was directed at the issue rather than Turkish citizens generally.
“We are not enemies of Turkey or the Turkish people, but peaceful Ugandans who are lovers of democracy, the rule of law and justice for everyone,” Twalla was quoted as saying by New Vision.
The protesters’ demands, however, should be distinguished from the formal UPDF announcement. The military has not stated publicly that Lumbuye’s case was the specific reason for suspending defence cooperation.
Museveni met Turkish ambassador before suspension
The latest development also follows a meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and Türkiye’s Ambassador to Uganda, Mehmet Fatih Ak.
The meeting took place on Thursday, September 17, on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kampala Storage Terminal in Mpigi District.
According to a statement from the Presidential Press Unit reported by New Vision, Museveni and the ambassador discussed “matters of bilateral interest”.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs (Regional Cooperation) Haruna Kasolo Kyeyune and Uganda’s Ambassador to Türkiye, John Leonard Mugerwa, also attended the meeting.
No details of the discussion were publicly released.
The timing of the meeting, followed by the PLU demonstration and then the UPDF’s suspension announcement, has increased attention on Uganda-Türkiye relations.
Nevertheless, there is no public evidence in the available official statements establishing that the September 17 presidential meeting directly resulted in Saturday’s military decision.
A relationship built over a decade
Uganda and Türkiye have maintained growing diplomatic and defence relations for years.
The two countries signed a Military Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding in Kampala on June 1, 2016, during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Uganda.
Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications says the agreement covers 16 areas of cooperation, including military training, defence industry cooperation, participation in exercises and training, non-combat operations, personnel exchanges, electronic information systems and cyber defence.
The 2016 agreements formed part of a broader effort by Kampala and Ankara to deepen bilateral relations.
The Embassy of Uganda in Ankara says Erdoğan’s 2016 state visit helped strengthen relations between the two countries and that the bilateral partnership has continued to develop through high-level visits and cooperation.
Uganda and Türkiye also signed agreements covering defence-industry cooperation and other sectors during the 2016 visit.
The defence relationship subsequently included engagement in military training, equipment and defence-related cooperation.
According to reporting published after Saturday’s announcement, the UPDF’s relationship with Türkiye was still active in November 2024, when Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba met Türkiye’s ambassador and defence attaché in Entebbe. The discussions reportedly included Uganda’s interest in acquiring additional military equipment from Türkiye.
Implications for defence cooperation
The immediate effect of the UPDF decision will depend largely on how broadly Uganda and Türkiye interpret the suspension.
If the measure is applied to all existing defence cooperation, it could affect military exchanges, training arrangements, defence-industry discussions and other activities operating under the bilateral framework.
The 2016 military cooperation agreement created a broad platform for engagement, meaning that an extended suspension could affect several areas rather than a single programs
However, the UPDF has not published a detailed list of activities that have been halted.
It is therefore not yet possible to establish from the military’s statement alone whether existing contracts, equipment procurement arrangements or specific training programmers have been cancelled, postponed or merely placed on hold.
The distinction matters for businesses and institutions involved in defence-related cooperation because suspension of military cooperation does not necessarily mean that every commercial or civilian relationship between the two countries has ended.
Somalia dimension
Uganda’s security relationship with Türkiye also has a regional context.
Uganda has been a major troop-contributing country to international security operations in Somalia, where its forces have participated in efforts against al-Shabaab for many years.
Türkiye has also expanded its security and economic presence in Somalia, including military training and other strategic engagements.
The two countries therefore have interests that intersect in East African security, particularly in Somalia.
Recent reporting has identified disagreements over Türkiye’s role in Somalia as part of the wider tensions surrounding Kampala and Ankara. However, because the UPDF has not identified Somalia as one of the “outstanding issues” in its September 19 statement, it would be premature to describe the Somalia question as the official reason for the suspension.
Muhoozi’s role in the dispute
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has played a prominent public role in the recent tensions involving Türkiye.
As UPDF Chief of Defence Forces and chairman of PLU, he has publicly criticised aspects of Türkiye’s relationship with Uganda and supported demands concerning Lumbuye.
The September 18 demonstration was organised by PLU following his directive, according to reporting from Ugandan media.
The military’s decision, however, was formally communicated by Col. Chris Magezi in his capacity as Acting Director of Defence Public Information.
The statement itself did not attribute the suspension to Gen. Muhoozi’s public comments, the PLU demonstration or the Lumbuye case.
That distinction is important in assessing the development because the official explanation remains limited to unresolved matters concerning mutual defence and military cooperation.
Türkiye’s position
As of the announcement of the UPDF suspension, publicly available reporting had not provided a detailed Turkish government response explaining Ankara’s position on the military decision.
The Turkish Embassy in Kampala had, however, announced its closure on September 18 ahead of the PLU demonstration.
The embassy’s decision demonstrated the diplomatic sensitivity surrounding the planned protest, but it did not constitute an announcement concerning the subsequent UPDF suspension.
Further clarification from Ankara could help establish whether the two governments have identified specific disagreements and whether diplomatic channels are being used to address them.
What happens next?
The UPDF has not set a deadline for the suspension.
Its statement instead establishes a condition for the measure to end: resolution of the outstanding issues concerning mutual defence and military cooperation.
That leaves the immediate future of the Uganda-Türkiye defence relationship dependent on discussions between the two sides.
Diplomatic engagement could determine whether the suspension remains limited to military cooperation or whether tensions affect other aspects of bilateral relations.
The fact that President Museveni met the Turkish ambassador only two days before the UPDF announcement also indicates that diplomatic communication between Kampala and Ankara remains active, although the content of those discussions has not been made public.
Broader significance for Uganda-Türkiye relations
The suspension represents a significant development in a bilateral relationship that has expanded considerably since the 2016 signing of the military cooperation agreement.
For Uganda, Türkiye has been one of the countries with which it has developed defence, training and defence-industry links.
For Türkiye, Uganda is an important partner in East Africa and a country with established political, economic and security relationships across the region.
A prolonged suspension could therefore have implications beyond military-to-military contacts, depending on how the dispute develops.
At the same time, Saturday’s announcement does not amount to a diplomatic break. Uganda and Türkiye continue to have formal diplomatic relations, and the UPDF has expressly tied the suspension to the resolution of outstanding defence and military issues rather than announcing a permanent termination of relations.
Conclusion
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces has suspended all defence and military cooperation with Türkiye with immediate effect, citing unresolved issues concerning mutual defence and military cooperation.
The announcement, made on September 19 by Col. Chris Magezi, does not identify the specific issues involved or provide a timeline for restoring cooperation.
The decision comes amid heightened tensions between Kampala and Ankara, including a PLU demonstration at the Turkish Embassy demanding the extradition of Ugandan government critic Fred Lumbuye.
But the military has not formally linked Lumbuye’s case or the demonstration to its decision, making it important to distinguish confirmed information from broader political and diplomatic developments.
The suspension puts on hold a defence relationship that has been built through agreements signed since 2016 and that covers areas including military training, defence industry cooperation, personnel exchanges, exercises and cyber defence.
The next stage will depend on whether Uganda and Türkiye can resolve the outstanding issues cited by the UPDF and restore their military cooperation while maintaining the wider bilateral relationship.
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