The late Maj. Gen. Waswa Kasirye Ggwanga’s warning that retired Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu would one day answer for the deadly 2016 Kasese operation has resurfaced following Elwelu’s arrest over separate allegations of involvement in subversive activities.
Ggwanga, a former senior military officer, publicly condemned the November 2016 assault on the Rwenzururu Kingdom palace, describing the operation as a serious military blunder that brought embarrassment to Uganda’s security forces.
In an interview published by Daily Monitor on December 3, 2016, Ggwanga questioned Elwelu’s judgment as the commander of the operation and accused the security forces of using excessive force against civilians.
“He will be tried one day,” Ggwanga warned, arguing that the evidence surrounding the killings was overwhelming.
Nearly a decade later, Elwelu has been arrested by Ugandan security forces over allegations of planning to destabilise parts of eastern Uganda, according to the military.
The circumstances surrounding his arrest have revived public debate about Ggwanga’s earlier remarks. However, the current allegations against Elwelu are separate from the 2016 Kasese killings, and his arrest does not establish criminal responsibility for the earlier operation.
The Kasese tragedy occurred on November 26 and 27, 2016, when security forces attacked the Rwenzururu Kingdom’s administrative offices and palace amid tensions between the government and the cultural institution.
King Charles Wesley Mumbere was arrested alongside hundreds of people following the operation.
Human Rights Watch documented that more than 100 people were killed during the palace assault, including children, while calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of security personnel.
The organisation subsequently criticised Ugandan authorities for failing to investigate the security forces’ actions adequately or establish individual accountability for the killings.
Ggwanga also challenged the military’s justification for the assault, arguing that commanders should have considered alternatives to a deadly confrontation, including surrounding the palace and allowing more time for negotiations.
He called for Mumbere’s release, warning that the king’s continued detention risked deepening resentment among his subjects. Mumbere was later released on bail, although the legal proceedings against him continued for years.
Elwelu subsequently rose through the military ranks, eventually serving as Deputy Chief of Defence Forces between 2021 and 2024.His record also attracted international scrutiny. In May 2024, the United States imposed travel sanctions on him over alleged extrajudicial killings committed by troops under his command in Kasese.
The sanctions were not a criminal conviction.The renewed attention to Ggwanga’s warning raises an important question: will the events in Kasese ever receive a full, independent investigation that establishes responsibility and delivers justice to victims’ families?
For families who lost relatives in the 2016 operation, accountability remains a central concern.Whether Elwelu’s current legal troubles will lead to any examination of his role in Kasese remains uncertain.
His arrest alone does not answer that question, but the unresolved killings continue to cast a long shadow over Uganda’s security institutions.
