Col. Kyakabale’s candle burns out
Uganda’s Former NRA Fighter and UPDF Retiree Colonel Anthony Kyakabale Passes Away
Colonel Anthony Kyakabale, a prominent figure in Uganda’s military history has died, family sources confirmed. His life was marked by extraordinary chapters of war, loyalty, betrayal, exile and eventual reconciliation making him one of Uganda’s most enigmatic military personalities.
Born in Kabale District in southwestern Uganda, Kyakabale joined the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1980. Just months later, he participated in the daring assault on Kabamba Military Barracks on February 6, 1981, an attack that ignited a five-year bush war and ultimately reshaped Uganda’s political landscape.
Kyakabale rose through the ranks during the early years of President Yoweri Museveni’s government, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by 1988. However, by the late 1990s, strains in his relationship with the government became evident and by the 2001 elections he had aligned himself with opposition figure Col. Kizza Besigye.
In 2001, allegations of misconduct, including a sensational claim that he had stolen gold from Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo led to his fleeing Uganda. Kyakabale dismissed the charges as fabrications asserting they were a smear campaign aimed at silencing dissent. “I had never even seen a gold store,” he told the Daily Monitor in 2015. “Yet the military arrested me. Eight months in Makindye barracks, no trial, no explanation.”
His departure was further compounded by tragedy when his driver was reportedly arrested and beaten to death, prompting Kyakabale to escape into exile, first to Rwanda and later to Sweden in 2003. During his years abroad, he helped establish the People’s Redemption Army (PRA), a rebel group believed to operate from the jungles of eastern Congo fighting against the government he once served.
Despite his exile, whispers of reconciliation persisted. Efforts to reach him included diplomatic missions from Ugandan officials such as Gen. James Mugira in 2008 and Brig. Leopold Kyanda in 2009. It was not until a call from Gen. Charles Bakahumura, a former colleague, that Kyakabale finally believed in a genuine path back home.
“When he said the President wanted me back, I believed him. I respected that call,” Kyakabale recounted.
In 2015, after 12 years in exile, Kyakabale returned to Uganda, met with President Museveni and publicly apologized for past differences. The President accepted his return and months later, Kyakabale was promoted to Colonel and retired from the army during a ceremony in Mbuya.
His passing marks the end of a remarkable journey — from revolutionary fighter to exile and finally, a reconciled soldier. Whether remembered as a rebel, patriot, or pragmatist, Colonel Anthony Kyakabale’s legacy remains intertwined with Uganda’s tumultuous history, illustrating a life that never truly stopped being dedicated to service.
