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Amid coups in Africa, Rwandan President Retires 12 Generals and 1,013 Other Military Officers

On Wednesday, Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda and commander-in-chief of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), ordered the retirement of 930 junior troops and 95 military generals.
General James Kabarebe, the nation’s former Minister of Defense and Chief of Defense Staff, is first on the list of retirees.
In a statement posted on the official website of the Rwanda Defense Force on Wednesday, those affected were identified.
The announcement came amid recent military coups in Niger Republic and Gabon.
Until his retirement, General Kabarebe
served as the special advisor to the president on security.
Local media reports that some of those retired had attained the retirement age of 65 while others were indicted in some misconduct.
“The president has also approved the retirement of 83 senior officers, 06 junior officers and 86 senior NCOS, 678 end of contract and 160 medical discharges,” the statement partly read.
Prior to their retirement, the Ugandan president promoted a number of lieutenant colonels to the rank of colonels and brigade commanders.
Although the statement did not categorically state the reasons behind the retirement of over 600 military officers, the president had in previous weeks addressed opinion leaders on the need to keep the country united.
“Our history has been an example of how destructive division can be. We have also seen that it is our unity that has led to our country’s transformation. We have people who lost their family members, others who have family members who are perpetrators, everyone has suffered the consequences of division. The only solution to this is unity. We cannot accept to return to the destructive practice of division. That would be self destruction.” President Kagame said.
Reacting to the development, some users on X (formerly Twitter) claimed it was a coup prevention strategy while others commended the soldiers for serving the nation for over three decades.