Kale Kayihura

Early life

Kale Kayihura was born in Kisoro District, Western Uganda, on 26 December 1955. He is the son of Johnson Komuluyange Kalekezi, one of the Ugandans who fought for the African Great Lakes nation's independence, which occurred on 9 October 1962. His father died in an aeroplane crash in Kiev, Ukraine on 17 August 1960, when Kayihura was only four years old. His mother is Catherine Mukarwamo, first-born child of Nyamihana, a former chief of Nyakabande village. Nyamihana was also the father of Justice Joseph Mulenga Nyamihana, who served as president of the East African Court of Justice and died on 29 August 2012.

Formal education

He went to Gasiza Primary School in Kisoro District, transferred to Buhinga Primary School in Kabarole District. He studied at Mutolere Secondary School, at Mutolere, in Kisoro District, up to Senior Four, under the care of his maternal grandmother, the late Sofia Nyamihana. His brilliance in school caught the attention of his paternal uncle, the late Frank Gasasira, an accomplished civil servant at the time, who took over the responsibility of his education. In 1974, Kayihura was enrolled in St. Mary's College Kisubi for his Advanced Level education. He studied Drama, History, English Literature and Economics. He did well and was admitted to Makerere University for the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. He graduated in 1978 and proceeded to the London School of Economics from which he graduated with the degree of Master of Laws (LLM), in 1982, at age 26.

Military education

Kayihura has attended a number of military courses, including the following:

The Army Command Course at the Army Commander College, in Nanjing, China

The Combined Arms Course

The Brigade/Battalion Commander's Course

The Conflict Resolution and Management Course at Nasser Military Academy, Cairo, Egypt

The Command and Staff Course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, United States, from 2000 to 2001

He is married to Angella Kayihura, a Kenyan of Rwandese descent. She is the grand-niece of Rudahigwa, the last king of pre-independence Rwanda. The Kayihuras are the parents of two children. He is reported to own a mixed farm on 350 acres (140 ha) of land in Kabula, Lyantonde District, on which he owns about 500 goats.

Kayihura was largely perceived (amongst Uganda's political circles and a large section of the population) as working for and promoting Museveni's personal interests through squashing of Museveni's political opponents. During the 2016 general elections, he was behind the implementation of the controversial Public Order Management Act (POMA) which largely targeted opposition politicians and their rights to assemble. He has, in most cases appeared to be ruthless while dealing with opposition political protests. Kayihura infamously admitted before the media that he had sanctioned the beatings of supporters of Dr. Kizza Besigye, a leading opposition figure and four-time presidential candidate in Uganda. However, he later backtracked due to public pressure and promised that the culprits (who had participated in the beatings) would face disciplinary action. A team of private lawyers separately filed a criminal case against Kayihura and other senior commanders for their involvement in the July 2016 beatings. Criminal summonses were issued by the magistrate court for the IGP and seven other senior officers to appear in court to answer charges of torture but none of them showed up in court. These proceedings were later halted by the controversial Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma.

On 13 June 2018, Kayihura was arrested on suspicion of killing police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi in March 2017.

Kayihura appeared at the military court in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 August 2018. He was released on bail after 76 days in military custody on charges of failure to protect war materials and aiding and abetting kidnapping.