FABRICATED: The Press Release Warning Ugandan Legislators To Vote In Favour Of The 2025 UPDF Amendment Bill Is Not Authentic.
The Claim.
The press release purportedly from the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) has been circulating on the X social platform. This document, posted by KampalaUpdates, warns all Members of Parliament who received the highly contested Ugx 100m that they are expected to vote for the UPDF amendment bill, and if they fail, there will be serious consequences. This document is FALSE and has been fabricated to deceive.
Context.
The 2025 UPDF amendment bill seeks to make changes in the old UPDF Act by streamlining the composition of the organs and structure of the Ugandan People’s Defence Force. This bill will establish healthcare services for the members of the defence forces, establish the medical board to provide for the management of veteran affairs, repeal the Uganda Veterans Assistance Board Act, Cap. 221, and also reinstate the General Court Martial, among other related matters.
How about the 100 million Ugandan shillings?
In April 2025, Ugandan media were awash with news that Ugandan members of Parliament were receiving Ugx100M each, which many first denied, but later, the president confirmed that the money had been disbursed. This money raised some controversy on why and how the MPs received it, and some claims have been made about it, like in this purported press release.
The fact-check
First, to confirm the authenticity of this “press release”, we checked the official UPDF X platform, which is at MODVA__UPDF and specifically looked up the date of the 16th of May, 2025, since it is the date on the document we are checking.
We found that the UPDF did not post anything on 16th May 2025 on their official account, and they had last published on 15th May 2025 and 17th May 2025, respectively, as shown in the screenshot below.
We also checked the official X accounts of the Ugandan Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba-cdfupdf, and his personal account – mkainerugaba. And both accounts had not shared this press release, which is highly unlikely if it were authentic, considering Mr Muhoozi being very vocal on X about issues concerning the UPDF and Robert Kyangulanyi, whom he coined as Kabobi.
We also analysed the choice of words used in this “press release”. In the document, the UPDF is referred to as “ the mighty Bachwezi army”.
And besides this not being formal language for a press release, it is an idea that has been coined over time to portray the supremacy of the Ugandan army, as seen in this advanced Google search and here. It is simply surprising that their pages of communication have no such document.
It also refers to the National Unity Platform president as “kabobi” and the Human Rights Commission chairperson as merely “Wangadya”, a language that simply shows an attempt to undermine.
Furthermore, the letter also shows that it was signed by “Col Deo Akiiki, Dep Director, Defence Public Information”, which shows a lapse in the current affairs by the person or people who fabricated this to disinform or play political cards in a negatively impacting manner.
The Deputy Director, Defence Public Information, is Maj Bilal Katamba, who was appointed in March 2025 and not Colonel Deo Akiiki as seen on this release.
It is also worth mentioning that the UPDF as a body does not have the authority to dictate or enact laws in Uganda. That is the role of the members of parliament. However, individuals within the army may be in a position to influence decisions in parliament in the games of politics, something that this letter wanted to reflect. Unfortunately, it is deemed false and a tool to polarise and spread disinformation through propaganda.
Verdict.
The press release warning Ugandan MPs to pass the UPDF Amendment Act is false and fabricated. Please disregard it.