The Commonwealth country has suspended all defense and military cooperation with Türkiye. This decision comes as another factor that adds to the growing tensions between the two countries. A Ugandan political commentator living in Türkiye is known to have sparked the dispute.
On September 19th, the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF) announced a decision. The decision stated that the suspension would continue to go on until outstanding matters that concern military and defense relations between the two countries are resolved. However, the army did not clearly specify exactly what those unresolved issues were or identify which programs would be affected by this firsthand.
The announcement came shortly after a demonstration outside the Turkish Embassy in Kampala. On September 18, hundreds of supporters of the Patriotic League of Uganda gathered together to demand that Türkiye hand over Fred Lumbuye. Lumbuye is known to be a Ugandan blogger. He is an outspoken critic of President Yoweri Museveni. The group is associated with General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defense Forces and the president’s son.
Lumbuye has lived in Türkiye for several years and has been accused by Ugandan authorities of offenses including incitement, spreading false information, and crimes that are related to computers. However, his supporters regard him as a political critic. His legal status in Türkiye remains an important part of the dispute.
Over the years, Türkiye and Uganda have established defense ties. These relations include military training, equipment, and broader security cooperation. Their relationship also goes far beyond defense as well, with Turkish companies involved in major projects that are located in Uganda.
Due to that, the most recent development represents a very important and noticeable pause in a relationship that has included several areas of security cooperation. At present, Uganda has not announced when military ties could continue to go on, and that leaves the future of the defense partnership dependent on the resolution of the outstanding issues identified by the UPDF.
