Salim Saleh
Encyclopedia
General Salim Saleh is an adviser to the President of Uganda
on military matters. Formerly, he was the Uganda
n Minister of State
for Microfinance
. Before that, he was a high ranking military official of UPDF
, the armed forces of Uganda
. He is a brother of the current President of Uganda
, Yoweri Museveni
. Salim Saleh has featured in controversies regarding corruption, including being implicated by the UN Security Council for plundering natural resources in Congo (DRC)
.
to join the Front for National Salvation
(FRONASA), a Tanzania
-based rebel group formed and led by his brother Yoweri Museveni
to fight against the regime of Idi Amin
. Together with his friend Fred Rwigyema and his brother Museveni, he trained in Mozambique
with Samora Machel
's FRELIMO
rebels. It was there that he adopted Salim Saleh as his nom de guerre. In 1978, FRONASA merged with other anti-Amin groups in Tanzania and formed the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), who together with Tanzanian armed forces
captured Kampala
in April 1979 – sending Idi Amin to exile. Saleh was later made a platoon commander of a UNLA unit in Moroto District
.
Following the bitterly contested December 1980 elections
, Museveni declared an armed rebellion against the UNLA and the government of Milton Obote
.
Salim Saleh joined his brother's National Resistance Army
(NRA) and the guerilla war known as "the bush war
", that would last until 1986. In January 1986, Salim Saleh commanded NRA's assault on Kampala
, which eventually led to the demise of Tito Okello
's regime, with Museveni becoming president
. NRA became the national army, with Salim Saleh as a commanding officer, General Elly Tumwine
as the Army Commander, and Museveni as the Commander-in-chief
.
Saleh proceeded to command an army division against rebel groups that were remnants of the UNLA, including Uganda People's Democratic Army
(UPDA), in northern parts of the country. He was instrumental in working out a peace deal with the UPDA.
Saleh succeeded Tumwine as Army Commander in 1987, and held the post until 1989 when, following accusations of corruption, he was sacked from the army by his brother. He later became the senior presidential advisor on defence and security (1996 – 1998), and the commander of the army's Reserve Force (1990 – 2001), involved in resettling army veterans of the bush war.
, setting up a string of businesses ranging from real estate
to aviation
, and becoming one of Uganda's wealthiest businessmen, but also getting involved in several corruption scandals.
's largest bank, the now defunct Uganda Commercial Bank
(UCB). His brother, President Museveni, later said he'd sacked Salim Saleh, not for his involvement in the scandal, but for "indiscipline and drunkenness" in the army.
during the Second Congo War
. The government of Uganda dismissed the report, and no punitive actions were taken against those involved.
, was one of the pioneer class to graduate from the Uganda Senior Command and Staff College
at Kimaka IN Jinja
. Following that course, he was promoted to the rank of General
in the UPDF
. Prior to the 2006 General Elections
, Salim Saleh went back to school and obtained an A-level certificate
, the minimum requirement to become a member of parliament in Uganda. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister of State for Microfinance
.
President of Uganda
-List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
on military matters. Formerly, he was the Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
. Before that, he was a high ranking military official of UPDF
Uganda People's Defence Force
The Uganda Peoples Defence Force , previously the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates the UPDF has a total strength of 40–45,000, and consists of land forces and an Air Wing.The IISS Military Balance 2007 says there...
, the armed forces of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. He is a brother of the current President of Uganda
President of Uganda
-List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
, Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
. Salim Saleh has featured in controversies regarding corruption, including being implicated by the UN Security Council for plundering natural resources in Congo (DRC)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
Military career
In 1976, aged 16, he left Kako Secondary School in MasakaMasaka
Masaka is a town in Central Uganda, lying west of Lake Victoria. It is the chief town of Masaka District. Besides being the headquarters of Masaka District, the town is the regional headquarters and largest metropolitan area in Lyantonde District, Sembabule District, Lwengo District, Bukomansimbi...
to join the Front for National Salvation
Front for National Salvation
The Front for National Salvation was a Ugandan rebel group formed by Yoweri Museveni in 1972. Kikosi Maalum and FRONASA, as well as several smaller groups including Save Uganda Movement and Uganda Freedom Union, formed the Uganda National Liberation Front and its military wing the Uganda...
(FRONASA), a Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
-based rebel group formed and led by his brother Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
to fight against the regime of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
. Together with his friend Fred Rwigyema and his brother Museveni, he trained in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
with Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
's FRELIMO
Mozambican Liberation Front
The Liberation Front of Mozambique, , from the Portuguese Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, was a liberation movement which was founded in 1962 to fight for the independence of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique...
rebels. It was there that he adopted Salim Saleh as his nom de guerre. In 1978, FRONASA merged with other anti-Amin groups in Tanzania and formed the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), who together with Tanzanian armed forces
Tanzania People's Defence Force
The Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force was set up in September 1964. From its inception, it was ingrained in the troops that they were a people’s force under civilian control. They were always reminded of their difference from the colonial armed forces...
captured Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
in April 1979 – sending Idi Amin to exile. Saleh was later made a platoon commander of a UNLA unit in Moroto District
Moroto District
Moroto District is a district in Northern Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Moroto, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
.
Following the bitterly contested December 1980 elections
Elections in Uganda
Uganda provides national elections for a president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term. The National Assembly has 292 members. 214 members are elected without party labels directly in single seat constituencies, while 78 members are elected from so-called special...
, Museveni declared an armed rebellion against the UNLA and the government of Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
.
Salim Saleh joined his brother's National Resistance Army
National Resistance Army
The National Resistance Army , the military wing of the National Resistance Movement , was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Luwero War or "the war in the bush", against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.NRA was supported by Muammar...
(NRA) and the guerilla war known as "the bush war
Ugandan Bush War
The Ugandan Bush War refers to the guerrilla war waged between 1981 and 1986 in Uganda by the National Resistance Army against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.-Events leading to the war:Following the Uganda-Tanzania War that removed Idi Amin in 1979, a...
", that would last until 1986. In January 1986, Salim Saleh commanded NRA's assault on Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, which eventually led to the demise of Tito Okello
Tito Okello
General Tito Lutwa Okello , was a Ugandan Military officer and politician. He was the President of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.-Background:Tito Okello was born in 1914 in Kitgum District...
's regime, with Museveni becoming president
President of Uganda
-List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
. NRA became the national army, with Salim Saleh as a commanding officer, General Elly Tumwine
Elly Tumwine
General Elly Tumwine , is a Ugandan professional artist, educator and military officer. He is a former Commander of the Army in Uganda, the highest military position in the country at that time...
as the Army Commander, and Museveni as the Commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
.
Saleh proceeded to command an army division against rebel groups that were remnants of the UNLA, including Uganda People's Democratic Army
Uganda People's Democratic Army
The Uganda People's Democratic Army was a rebel group operating in northern Uganda from March 1986 to June 1988.In January, 1986, the government of Ugandan President Tito Okello was overthrown by the rebel National Resistance Army under the command of Yoweri Museveni, which took the capital city...
(UPDA), in northern parts of the country. He was instrumental in working out a peace deal with the UPDA.
Saleh succeeded Tumwine as Army Commander in 1987, and held the post until 1989 when, following accusations of corruption, he was sacked from the army by his brother. He later became the senior presidential advisor on defence and security (1996 – 1998), and the commander of the army's Reserve Force (1990 – 2001), involved in resettling army veterans of the bush war.
Controversies
While still in the army, Salim Saleh ventured into private business and philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, setting up a string of businesses ranging from real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
to aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, and becoming one of Uganda's wealthiest businessmen, but also getting involved in several corruption scandals.
Uganda Commercial Bank
In 1998, Salim Saleh resigned from his post as presidential advisor, following allegations that Greenland Investments, a company in which he was a major stakeholder, had used the Malaysian company, Westmont, to illegally purchase shares in UgandaUganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
's largest bank, the now defunct Uganda Commercial Bank
Uganda Commercial Bank
Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd was a Ugandan government-owned bank, and the largest financial institution in the country. In 2001 the bank was privatised and merged into Stanbic Bank Limited.-History:...
(UCB). His brother, President Museveni, later said he'd sacked Salim Saleh, not for his involvement in the scandal, but for "indiscipline and drunkenness" in the army.
Junk helicopters
In 1998, Salim Saleh's company purchased helicopters for the army, for which he received a commission of $800,000. The helicopters turned out to be junk.Involvement in Congo (DRC)
Salim Saleh was specifically implicated in a UN Security Council report for being involved in the illegal exploitation of natural resources from Congo (DRC)Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
during the Second Congo War
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
. The government of Uganda dismissed the report, and no punitive actions were taken against those involved.
Latest developments
In 2005, Salim Saleh, then a Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
, was one of the pioneer class to graduate from the Uganda Senior Command and Staff College
Uganda Senior Command and Staff College
The Uganda Senior Command and Staff College , is a training facility for the Military of Uganda, including the army, air force and special forces.-Location:...
at Kimaka IN Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
. Following that course, he was promoted to the rank of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the UPDF
Uganda People's Defence Force
The Uganda Peoples Defence Force , previously the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates the UPDF has a total strength of 40–45,000, and consists of land forces and an Air Wing.The IISS Military Balance 2007 says there...
. Prior to the 2006 General Elections
Ugandan general election, 2006
The Ugandan general election of 2006 took place on February 23, 2006. This was the first multiparty election since Yoweri Museveni, the current president, took over power in 1986. Six candidates contested for the Presidential office, and at least 33 parties were expected to enter the Parliamentary...
, Salim Saleh went back to school and obtained an A-level certificate
Advanced Level (Uganda)
In Uganda, students receive the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education when they finish the 2-year upper secondary school. It is comparative to GCE A-Level in the UK. UACE is also known colloquially as "A-Level". The examinations for the UACE are administered by the Uganda National Examinations...
, the minimum requirement to become a member of parliament in Uganda. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister of State for Microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
.
See also
- Elly TumwineElly TumwineGeneral Elly Tumwine , is a Ugandan professional artist, educator and military officer. He is a former Commander of the Army in Uganda, the highest military position in the country at that time...
- Mugisha MuntuMugisha MuntuMajor General Mugisha Muntuyera, commonly referred to as Mugisha Muntu, is a Ugandan politician and former military officer. He is a member of the Forum for Democratic Change , a Ugandan political party. In 2008, he unsuccessfully contested for the party's presidency, against Kizza Besigye...
- Jeje OdongoJeje OdongoGeneral Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo is a Ugandan military officer and politician. He is the current State Minister for Defence in Uganda, a post he has served in since February 2009.-History:...
- James KaziniJames KaziniMajor General James Kazini was a Ugandan Army officer. Between 2001 and 2003, he served as Commander of the UPDF, a position that is now known as the Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda, the highest military position within the Uganda People's Defense Force.-History:He was born in 1957 in the...
- Aronda NyakairimaAronda NyakairimaGeneral Aronda Nyakairima is a Ugandan Army officer. He is the current Chief of Defense Forces of Uganda, the highest military rank in the Uganda People's Defense Force. He was born in 1959, in Rukungiri District.-Education:...