The General Court Martial has remanded former Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) director Maj Gen James Birungi on charges of treachery and offences relating to security, nearly a year after his arrest.
Birungi appeared before the military court sitting at Makindye on Monday morning alongside three other Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officers. The court, chaired by Brig Gen Richard Tukacungurwa, formally read the charges before remanding all four accused to Makindye Military Barracks until August 3, 2026.
The former intelligence chief was brought to court at around 10:37 a.m. under tight security.
While Birungi faces charges of treachery and offences relating to security, the three co-accused are understood to have been charged with murder in connection with separate security operations that resulted in the fatal shooting of suspected suicide bombers.
The incidents under investigation include the shooting of a woman travelling on a motorcycle near Kalerwe Market and the killing of a man near the Catholic Shrine in Munyonyo during Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations.
The identities of the three officers had not been officially disclosed by the time of publication, although one was identified only as Byaruhanga.
Proceedings were conducted under tight restrictions, with journalists barred from taking photographs of the accused or reporting from inside the courtroom.
Maj Alex Echeru, the officer in charge of the Makindye Military Barracks prison cells, led the security escort that brought Birungi to court and prevented members of the media from photographing or covering the proceedings.
The prosecution marks a dramatic turn in the career of one of Uganda’s most prominent military intelligence officers.
Birungi previously served as director of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), now renamed the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), before he was transferred in a military reshuffle announced on April 16, 2025.
The reshuffle saw him exchange positions with Maj Gen Richard Otto, who took over leadership of the military intelligence outfit, while Birungi was appointed commander of the Mountain Infantry Division.
However, his tenure in the new role was short-lived.
Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba removed him from the Mountain Infantry Division barely two months after his appointment.
In August 2025, Birungi was arrested and detained.
At the time, security sources alleged that he had provided false intelligence reports concerning counterfeit fuel and suspected suicide bombers in a scheme intended to facilitate the fraudulent acquisition of government funds.
Those allegations had remained untested in court until Monday’s arraignment.
The charges now preferred against him carry some of the most severe penalties under Uganda’s military justice system.
If convicted of treachery, Birungi could face the death sentence.
His prosecution is also likely to have wider implications because he is among the state witnesses listed in the high-profile treason case involving Kizza Besigye, Hajji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya and Capt Denis Oola.
The three are accused of plotting to overthrow the government, and Birungi had previously been identified as one of the prosecution’s intended witnesses.
His own prosecution on treachery charges now places him in the unusual position of simultaneously being a state witness in one capital case while facing allegations that themselves carry the possibility of a death sentence.
The General Court Martial ordered that Birungi and his co-accused remain in military custody until August 3, when they are expected to return to court for further proceedings.
