Isaac Lumago
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Isaac Lumago (1939 – 8 May 2012) was a Ugandan military officer who served as chief of staff for the Uganda Army from 1977 to 1978, and later became leader of the Former Uganda National Army (FUNA).


Biography

Isaac Lumago was born at Koboko in 1939. He was an ethnic Nubian, and a cousin of
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
. Lumago worked as a customs official before being recruited into the Uganda Army in 1963 by British officers. After undergoing training at the
Sudanese Military Academy Sudanese Military Academy () is one of the Military academy, military colleges in Sudan and the first military college established in Africa. The Military College at Wadi Sayyidna, near Omdurman, has been Sudan's primary source of officer trainin ...
in
Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...
, he was made a second lieutenant and posted to Moroto. He underwent additional training over the following years and received steady promotions. By 1971 he held the rank of captain, and was supportive of Colonel Idi Amin's
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
that year. In 1974 he underwent training in the Soviet Union. Under Amin's rule, Lumago became Minister of Industry and Power before—at the rank of colonel—being appointed Uganda's High Commissioner to
Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
in 1975. Operating from
Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...
, he also was given responsibility for Uganda's relations with 12 other states in southern Africa. In July 1976 he was in Kenya when he overheard
Kenya Air Force The Kenya Air Force (KAF) or is the national aerial warfare service branch of the Republic of Kenya. The main airbase operating fighters is Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, while Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi is the headquarters. Other ba ...
officers on 4 July, discussing plans by Israel to carry out a raid against
Entebbe International Airport Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...
to free hostages who were held there by Palestinian and German airplane hijackers with the complicity of the Ugandan government. Lumago and Colonel Gad Wilson Toko, who was in Nairobi for non-military reasons, managed to telephone Brigadier Isaac Maliyamungu after failing to reach Uganda Army Chief of Staff
Mustafa Adrisi Mustafa Adrisi Abataki ( – 28 July 2013) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third vice president of Uganda from 1977 to 1979 and was one of President Idi Amin's closest associates before the two fell out. In 1978, ...
. Maliyamungu, who was reportedly drunk at a night club, dismissed the warning and told both men that since they were acting in civilian capacity they should not concern themselves with military matters. The Israelis subsequently launched
Operation Entebbe The Entebbe raid, also known as the Operation Entebbe and officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt (also retroactively codenamed Operation Yonatan), was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to th ...
, rescuing the hostages and destroying a significant portion of the Uganda Army Air Force. Lumago was recalled from his diplomatic post back to Uganda later that year. In January 1977 Lumago, at the rank of general, was appointed Chief of Staff of the army and Minister of State for Defence. Lumago did little to exercise responsibility over his ministerial portfolio. At the time, he was regarded as a follower of Adrisi who had been appointed Vice President. In early 1978, a political rivalry between Adrisi and President
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
gradually escalated until the former was injured in a suspicious car accident. The Vice President was consequently flown to Egypt for treatment, whereupon Amin purged his followers from the government. In April 1978, Lumago was among those officers who were deeply criticised by Amin in a public radio broadcast. Afterwards, on 8 May he was dismissed as Chief of Staff and Minister of State for Defence and relegated to inspecting the equipment of the army's mechanised regiments. In 1979 Tanzanian forces and Ugandan rebels invaded Uganda and overthrew Amin. Lumago fled from his mansion in Koboko, which was subsequently destroyed. He went to
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
, from where he organised remnants of the Uganda Army into a rebel force. Together with other pro-Amin groups, Lumago's force invaded the West Nile region in 1980, starting 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 ...
. He eventually rose to commander of the pro-Amin insurgent group known as Former Uganda National Army (FUNA). In July 1985, the Ugandan government under
Tito Okello Tito Lutwa Okello (15 October 1914 – 3 June 1996) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986. Background Tito Okello was born into an ethnic Acholi fami ...
invited him and about 1,500 FUNA fighters to return. He accepted, joined Okello's government, and consequently began to fight against another rebel movement, the
National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA) was a guerilla army and the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that fought in the Ugandan Bush War against the government of Milton Obote, and later the government of Tito Okello. NRA wa ...
(NRA) of
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 ...
. Lumago set up his headquarters in a hotel 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 ...
from where he gave interviews and directed his troops. Meanwhile, FUNA was accused of gross indiscipline, reportedly raping and murdering civilians in the capital and other areas, though Lumago denied these charges. He also lobbied for an amnesty to allow Idi Amin to return to Uganda. Lumago's troops fought with the UNLA to defend Kampala from a NRA offensive in January 1986, but were defeated. He was forced to flee back into Zaire. Lumago still served as one of the commanders of FUNA by 1990, serving alongside Dusman Sabuni and Abdulatif Tiyua. He later became an associate of the West Nile Bank Front. Despite appeals by Ugandan government officials to peacefully return to Uganda, Lumago initially refrained from laying down his weapons out of fears of reprisals due to his long opposition against Museveni. He continued to live in exile until 1997. In late 2011 Lumago was made adviser to President Museveni for security in the
West Nile sub-region West Nile sub-region, previously known as West Nile Province and West Nile District, is a sub-region in north-western Uganda, in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. Location The sub-region is bordered by the Democratic Republ ...
. In 2012 Lumago fell ill and was taken to a medical clinic in Koboko. The clinic referred him to Arua Referral Hospital in
Arua Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. Location Arua is approximately north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda, Arua is about , by road, west ...
, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. His health continued to deteriorate until he died on 8 May at the age of 73. Doctors suggested that he had died from
high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
.


Personal life

Lumago was
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 ...
by faith. By the time of his death, he had three wives and about thirty children. Lumago was a close friend of Andrew Mukooza, the last commander of the Uganda Army Air Force.


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumago, Isaac 1939 births 2012 deaths Ugandan military personnel Ugandan exiles Ugandan Christians Sudanese Military College alumni People of the Ugandan Bush War