UPDF Changes Mabonga Transfer Date From April To November 2025 As Desertion Dispute Deepens

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has revised a key detail in its account of Lt Herbert Matanda Mabonga’s disappearance from military service, changing the date of his transfer to Fort Portal from April 2026 to November 2025. The correction has added another point of interest to the dispute surrounding the officer’s alleged desertion.

Col Chris Magezi, the acting Director of Defence Public Information, initially stated on October 1 that Mabonga had been transferred from the Chieftaincy of Defence Intelligence and Security to the Mountain Infantry Division headquarters in Fort Portal in April 2026. Hours later, however, Magezi issued a correction saying the reassignment had actually taken place in November 2025.

The UPDF says Mabonga failed to report to his new duty station after the transfer and was subsequently declared absent without official leave before his status was eventually upgraded to desertion. The army has also accused him of involvement in alleged extortion, fraudulent land transactions and forgery of land titles, saying he will be arrested and subjected to military justice.

Mabonga, however, has presented a different account of events. He claims he learnt about the transfer while already in hiding and later discovered that he had been declared AWOL while being held by the Special Forces Command (SFC). He has also alleged that he was taken to an SFC facility in Entebbe after seeking help to secure a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.

The former intelligence officer further claims that he left his home around January after facing pressure from colleagues following the death of his former boss, Brig Gen Tom K. Kabuye. He alleges that an embezzlement investigation report implicated some officials and that he prepared another report for the President while in hiding. These allegations have not been independently verified, while the UPDF has rejected his wider claims as fabricated material involving doctored images and forged documents.

The latest correction leaves questions about the precise timeline of Mabonga’s transfer, his subsequent AWOL status and when the army classified him as a deserter. The UPDF has not publicly provided the specific date on which his status changed from AWOL to desertion, while Mabonga’s allegations concerning his alleged detention and the purported embezzlement report remain disputed and unverified.