President Yoweri Museveni has promoted Brig Gen Richard Otto to the Major General, according to Colonel Deo Akiiki, the Deputy Defence spokesperson.
The development, Col Akiiki says, was revealed by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Wilson Mbasu Mbadi.
“The CDF is pleased to announce the promotion of Brig Gen Richard Otto to the rank of Maj General by the President of the Republic of Uganda and Commander in Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces,” Col Akiiki said on Wednesday, in a message sent to the media.
Maj Gen Otto was recently appointed the Chairperson of the South Sudan supervisory mechanism which monitors the implementation of the peace process in the Republic of South Sudan on behalf of Uganda as a Guarantor of the Peace agreement.
The three guarantors of the peace process in South Sudan under Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan with President Museveni as their Chairperson.
Maj Gen Otto was in 2019 appointed commander of UPDF contingent in Somalia and also AMISOM Sector 1 Commander, before completing his tour of duty in December 2020.
Prior to that, he commanded the third army division of the UPDF, based in Moroto. He was appointed to that position in May 2017.
He also served as the commander of the UPDF contingent in the Central African Republic, as part of the African Union Regional Task Force (AU-RTF), the regional counter-offensive against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).