Benon Biraaro (1 March 1958 – 12 February 2020; surname sometimes spelled Biraro) was a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and a high-ranking commander in the

Uganda People's Defence Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

(UPDF). While still in the active military, he served as the commandant of the

Uganda Senior Command and Staff College The Uganda Senior Command and Staff College (USCSC) is a training facility for senior commanders in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), including the army, air force, and special forces. Location The facility is located in Kimaka, a su ...

in Kimaka, Jinja. In 2016, he ran (unsuccessfully) for

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The President (government title), president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander- ...

on behalf of his agrarian Farmers Party of Uganda.

Background and formal education

Benon Biraaro was born on 1 March 1958 in

Isingiro District Isingiro District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The town of Isingiro is the district's main municipal, administrative, and commercial center. Location Isingiro District is bordered b ...

. He attended

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

, in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda's oldest and largest public university, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Later, he attended

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...

in the United Kingdom, graduating with a Masters in Global Strategic Studies.

Military education

His military education included the following courses: * Officer Cadet Course * Junior Staff College in the United Kingdom * Junior Command and Staff College at the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration ...

, in Kaduna,

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

* Senior Command and Staff College at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, USA * Africa Strategic Studies Course at

Nasser Military Academy The Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies (Egyptian Arabic: الأكاديمية العسكرية للدراسات العليا والاستراتيجية), formerly Nasser Military Academy (Egyptian Arabic: أكاديمية ن ...

, Cairo, Egypt * Masters in Global Security Studies at

, United Kingdom

Military career

Benon Biraaro joined the

Ugandan Bush War The Ugandan Bush War was a civil war fought in Uganda by the official Ugandan government and its armed wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), against a number of rebel groups, most importantly the National Resistance Army (NRA), from 19 ...

on 7 June 1982, straight out of

. By 1984, he had risen to the position of secretary to the High Command and National Resistance Council. By 1986, he was the deputy to

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

’s Principal Private Secretary. He was then posted to

Kitgum District Kitgum District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered much fatalities and social disruption resultin ...

, as the special district administrator from 1986 until 1987. He then was transferred to Kyankwanzi and served as

deputy commandant Deputy Commandant is a Group A Gazetted Officer rank in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), State Armed Police Forces and Indian Coast Guard. This rank is equivalent to the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police and in the Indian Arm ...

of the National Leadership Institute. Next, he served as the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 97th Battalion in Uganda's

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

, which ended the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

in the

Teso sub-region Teso sub-region (previously known as Teso District) is a sub-region in Eastern Region, Uganda that consists of: * Amuria District * Bukedea District * Kaberamaido District * Kapelebyong District * Katakwi District * Kumi District * Ngora D ...

and in

Tororo Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region, Uganda, Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District. History Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army (1971–1980), Uganda Army's Air an ...

and Busia districts. Following that, he served as the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

in Uganda. He was then appointed the military representative in the Office of the Inspector General of Government. He then served as a member of the Adhoc Committee on Human Rights under the chairmanship of

Abu Mayanja Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja (August 1929 – 4 November 2005) was the first Secretary General of the Uganda National Congress party, the first political party in Uganda set up on 6 March 1952 by Ignatius K. Musaazi. He became the Secretary ...

. He then became the director of training in the UPDF. In 1998, he commanded the Ugandan contingent to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC). He then became the commander of the Infantry Division in the Western Region of Uganda. He was appointed deputy chief of staff of the UPDF (DCOS), the fifth-highest rank in the Uganda military. Next, he served as the commandant for two in-takes at the

at Kimaka in the Eastern Region. He then served as the chief of the Strategic Planning and Management Unit of the Peace and Security Council at the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

headquarters in

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

Other responsibilities

Biraaro and several prominent individuals in the Ugandan military and business started a public-private partnership with the aim of raising investment funds locally to invest in local infrastructure and industry. Biraaro was the founder president and lead investor in Local Investment for Transformation.

Personal details

General Biraaro was a married father. He was of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

faith. He was reported to have built a church in the village where he was born, in

. He died on the morning of 12 February 2020, at Kampala Hospital, located on Kololo Hill, in Kampala, where he had been admitted six days earlier. He was reported to have died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. He was 61 years old.

References

External links

General Biraaro Plans To Run For President of Uganda In 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biraaro, Benon 1958 births 2020 deaths People from Isingiro District Alumni of Cranfield University Makerere University alumni Ugandan generals