While mainstream media focused on big political names like Ruhamya Kainerugaba son of Gen. Muhoozi and grandson to President Museveni at the Kabamba military commissioning, the real story of the day belonged to 2nd Lt. Andrew Bakira Ruyondo.
Andrew didn’t just graduate, he arrived at the Uganda Military Academy Kabamba having already won the prestigious King’s International Sword at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (UK) as the top overseas cadet of his intake.
But the history in his bloodline is what makes this moment legendary.Andrew is the son of James Ruyondo (a respected Lay Canon serving the North Ankole Diocese) and Beatrice Ruyondo.
More profoundly, his family holds a deeply poetic tie to the NRA revolution.
Back in February 1981, when rebel leader Yoweri Museveni was stranded with a broken-down vehicle on his way to launch the very first attack of the bush war at Kabamba Barracks, it was Andrew’s relative, Nathan Ruyondo, who stepped up.
Nathan handed Museveni the keys to his personal Peugeot 304, a brave act of sacrifice that later saw Nathan imprisoned for two years by the Obote regime.Fast forward to today.
Decades after the Ruyondo family provided the literal wheels to kickstart the NRA revolution at Kabamba, their son stands on that exact same Kabamba soil as one of the most elite military graduates of his generation.
From providing the car that birthed the revolution to raising a world-class officer cadet, the Ruyondo legacy has come completely full circle. Let’s give Andrew the massive respect and attention he truly deserves!
