Ronnie Balya (born 1961) is a Ugandan military officer currently serving at the rank of Brigadier General 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). He is currently serving as Uganda's ambassador to

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

, based in

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

, from 2017. Before that, from 2010 until 2017, he was the

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Internal Security Organisation The Internal Security Organisation (ISO) is the Uganda Government of Uganda, government's counter intelligence agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to Uganda's policy makers. It also engages in covert activities at the ...

(ISO).

Background and education

Balya was born 1961 in

Kabarole District Kabarole District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Tooro Kingdom. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1 July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Ka ...

Toro sub-region Tooro sub-region is a region in 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 Con ...

, in the Western Region of Uganda. He studied at

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 ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Social Sciences The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

degree. He continued with his studies at

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

where he earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in Diplomacy and International Studies. He was selected by the Commander in Chief to attend a Strategic Command and Leadership Course at the

National Defence College, Kenya The National Defence College, Kenya (NDCK) is a training facility under NDU-K https://ndu.ac.ke/ for senior commanders in the Military of Kenya, including the army, navy, air force and special forces. Training is also availed to senior Kenyan civil ...

, in Nairobi. He has also studied in various intelligence courses in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Military career

He joined 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 ...

in 1985. He served initially as a district internal security officer in Northern Uganda and Western Uganda. In 1997, Balya was moved to headquarters where he served in various capacities like director of the ISO inspectorate, director analysis and director technical intelligence. In August 2006, Balya was appointed deputy director general of ISO. On 27 July 2010, Balya was appointed director general of ISO, replacing Amos Mukumbi who was given another engagement in government. In December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In February 2014, he was promoted to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Other responsibilities

He is the current Uganda's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Sudan-Recently he addressed Uganda, South Sudan business forum held in Juba in July 2022 where he emphasized Uganda's commitment to promoting trade, peace, security and stability in the region (Full speech of Amb. H.E Brig.Gen. Ronnie Balya ‘ndc’, during the July Uganda, South Sudan Business forum,https://explorer.co.ug/inside-uganda-south-sudan-trade-ties/ . In addition to his duties at ISO, he served as the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee which brings together all the Intelligence agencies. He was also the secretary to the National Security Council, which is chaired by the President and composed of Ministers and Security Chiefs that handle National Defence and Security matters. In July 2016, he told the Ugandan Cabinet during a retreat in

Kyankwanzi District Kyankwanzi District is the westernmost district in the Central Region of Uganda and Buganda Kingdom, bordering Bunyoro. The district headquarters are in Butemba Town. Geography The Kyankwanzi District borders Nakaseke District to the east acro ...

that "corruption is killing government".

Order of succession

References

External links