Uganda has suspended all defence and military cooperation with Türkiye, escalating a dispute between Kampala and Ankara over the extradition of Ugandan political commentator Fred Lumbuye.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) announced the decision on Saturday, September 19, saying the suspension would remain in place until outstanding issues between the two countries are resolved.
“The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has with immediate effect suspended all and any Defence and Military cooperation with the Republic of Turkiye,” army spokesman Chris Magezi said in a statement, according to Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC).
Magezi added that “the measure will remain in force until outstanding issues of mutual defence and military cooperation between the two countries are resolved.” The UPDF did not specify those issues or identify which defence programmes would be affected.
The announcement came a day after supporters of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a group chaired by Uganda’s military chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, demonstrated outside the Turkish Embassy in Kampala demanding Lumbuye’s extradition.
Lumbuye, who lives in Türkiye, faces allegations in Uganda including incitement to violence, spreading false information and computer misuse.
Uganda and Türkiye have built defence ties for nearly a decade
The suspension puts on hold a defence relationship that has expanded significantly since 2016, when Uganda and Türkiye signed agreements covering military cooperation and defence industries.
The partnership has included military training, defence equipment and defence-industry cooperation with Türkiye, the world’s 9th-ranked military power, according to the 2026 Global Firepower ranking.
The latest dispute has been driven increasingly by Kainerugaba, who has repeatedly demanded action against Lumbuye and criticised Turkish authorities for allowing the commentator to operate from Türkiye.
The army chief has also threatened wider consequences for Turkish interests in Uganda. The dispute has included threats to cancel a $3 billion railway contract awarded to Turkish construction company Yapı Merkezi and to expel Turkish nationals from Uganda, according to AFP.
Kainerugaba’s confrontation with Türkiye is also part of a longer record of provocative public statements.
In January 2025, Reuters reported that he said on X that he wanted to behead opposition leader Bobi Wine, adding that only his father was stopping him.
In 2022, Kainerugaba sparked a diplomatic dispute with neighbouring Kenya after posting that his army could capture Nairobi within two weeks. Museveni subsequently removed him as commander of Uganda’s land forces, although the government did not explicitly cite the tweets as the reason.
Kainerugaba was later returned to the top of Uganda’s military hierarchy and is now the country’s Chief of Defence Forces.
More recently, Kainerugaba has become increasingly prominent in Uganda’s political succession plans. He announced in August 2026 that he would seek the presidency in 2031, further cementing his position at the centre of Uganda’s political and security establishment.
For now, the UPDF has not directly linked its suspension of military cooperation to the Lumbuye dispute. But the timing, following the embassy protest and months of increasingly public demands from Kainerugaba, marks a sharp escalation in relations between Uganda and Türkiye.