President Museveni invited former Premier Amama Mbabazi for the 39th Tarehe Sita celebrations that were held in Nakaseke District yesterday and the two leaders were seen having a light moment of laughter, and endless chat.
The president congratulated the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) for its successful transformation into a people’s army with a record success that “must be jealously guarded.”
Mr Museveni, the commander in chief, described the 39th UPDF Tarehe Sita activities as another phase of a people’s army now dedicated to the realisation of the fruits of the 1981 to 1986 Bush War struggle.
He observed that for securing peace in every corner of the country, the people’s army is improving the livelihood of Ugandans through improved farming systems targeting food security and income generating projects.
“We have finally succeeded in building a people’s army,” Mr Museveni said.
“The 39th Tarehe Sita is of course another phase of the earlier efforts where we tried to build a national army. We should not forget the period between 1971 and 1979. The 39 years is just another phase of the struggle to have a people’s army. The UPDF is a clean force that must now guard against any contamination,” the President said.
“The UPDF has been able to guarantee peace and nobody will disturb our peace,” Mr Museveni added at a function attended by several guests including former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya.
The 39th Tarehe Sita celebrations were held in Nakaseke District under the theme: ‘Consolidating the UPDF partnership with the people to safeguard the gains of the liberation.”