Kampala, Uganda | URN & AGENCIES | Officer Cadet Ruhamya Kainerugaba, son of Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, officially graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on Friday, completing the academy’s prestigious Officer Commissioning Course. The CDF was present to witness the ceremony.
Ahead of the parade, Gen. Kainerugaba was received by Major General Nick Cowley OBE, the academy commandant, who decorated him with a Sandhurst Alumni medal. The honor was particularly notable, as the tradition of issuing such badges was introduced after the General’s own time at the academy.
Photographs from the ceremony show the two families celebrating together as both young men received their commissions into the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces. For Ruhamya, the occasion marked the completion of a personal and family tradition. He enlisted in the UPDF as a private in June 2025 before being selected to undertake training at Sandhurst.
Ruhamya was commissioned alongside fellow Ugandan Officer Cadet Andrew Bakira Ruyondo, joining other international and British cadets who marched past Old College, the iconic main building, in a ceremony attended by family members, dignitaries, and military officials.
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba himself attended Sandhurst for the same course decades prior, graduating in 2000. Leading up to the parade, the CDF shared updates on his son’s progress, posting side-by-side photographs of himself during his own officer training alongside images of Ruhamya, reflecting on “father and son going through the same hardships, separated by 27 years.”
The Sandhurst commissioning course runs for 44 weeks and is recognized as one of the world’s most demanding military leadership programs.
Cadet Andrew Bakira
Ugandan Officer Cadet Bakira has been named the best international cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst after winning the prestigious International Sword.
Bakira, who hails from Burunga Sub-County in Kazo District, was among 247 cadets commissioned during the Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst on August 7, 2026.
The International Sword, also known as the Overseas Sword, is awarded by the Academy Commandant to the overseas cadet judged to have demonstrated the strongest overall performance in leadership, physical and mental resilience, attitude and military skills throughout the 44-week course.
Photographs from the parade show Bakira, dressed in full ceremonial uniform, pointing to his newly engraved name on the academy’s honours board: CC253 A Bakira Uganda.
His parents, James and Beatrice Ruyondo, travelled from Kazo to witness the historic occasion and celebrate their son’s achievement.The ceremony also brought together the Ruyondo and Kainerugaba families. Bakira was commissioned alongside fellow Ugandan cadet Ruhamya Kainerugaba, the eldest son of Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Both Bakira and Ruhamya were sponsored by the UPDF to attend the elite 44-week course, during which they trained together through the Junior, Intermediate and Senior terms, taking part in field exercises, military skills training and leadership assessments.
Bakira is an old boy of Ntare School and comes from a prominent family with historical links to the National Resistance Army struggle of the 1980s.Their commissioning adds to Uganda’s long association with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, one of the world’s most renowned institutions for the training of military officers.
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