Uganda has suspended all defence and military cooperation with Türkiye, following a dispute over Ankara’s refusal to extradite Ugandan political blogger and government critic Fred Kajubi Lumbuye, according to Ugandan and international media reports.
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) announced the suspension on Saturday, saying it would remain in effect until outstanding issues concerning defence and military cooperation 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 Türkiye,” UPDF spokesperson Col. Chris Magezi said in a statement.
The statement did not specify the outstanding issues or explicitly link the decision to Lumbuye’s case. The announcement, however, came one day after supporters of Uganda’s Patriotic League demonstrated outside the Turkish Embassy in Kampala, demanding Lumbuye’s extradition.
Dispute over Lumbuye
Lumbuye has lived in Türkiye since at least 2021 and has continued to publish commentary on Ugandan politics online. Ugandan authorities accuse him of offences including incitement to violence, spreading harmful or false information and computer-related offences.
Ugandan authorities opened 15 case files against Lumbuye in 2021, according to Uganda’s New Vision, while he was arrested in Türkiye that year amid an attempted deportation before being released.
The Patriotic League of Uganda, associated with UPDF Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has repeatedly called for his return to Uganda.
On Friday, thousands of supporters gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in Kampala to demand that Ankara hand Lumbuye over to Ugandan authorities. The group argued that he should return to Uganda to face the criminal charges against him.
RFI reported that the latest escalation followed Ankara’s refusal to comply with Kampala’s extradition request.
Long-standing defence ties
The suspension marks a significant setback to defence relations between Uganda and Türkiye, which have developed over nearly a decade.
The two countries have cooperated in areas including military training, defence equipment, counter-terrorism and security cooperation. A 2016 military cooperation memorandum provided a framework for expanding bilateral defence ties.
The UPDF gave no timeline for restoring cooperation, saying only that the suspension would remain in force until the outstanding issues were resolved.
The dispute comes amid broader strains in Uganda-Türkiye relations. Uganda has also raised concerns over Türkiye’s growing security role in Somalia, where Ankara has expanded its military and economic engagement.
Uganda has maintained a military presence in Somalia since 2007 as part of efforts to support the Somali government against Al-Shabaab. Türkiye has increasingly emerged as a major security and economic partner for Mogadishu.
For now, the suspension leaves the future of several bilateral defence programmes uncertain, while the unresolved Lumbuye case remains at the centre of the latest diplomatic tensions between Kampala and Ankara.
