Uganda’s military has suspended all defence and military cooperation with Turkey, effective immediately, following a diplomatic standoff over Ankara’s attempts to have a prominent government critic extradited from Uganda.
Army spokesman Chris Magezi announced on Friday that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces had cut ties “until outstanding issues of mutual defence and military cooperation between the two countries are resolved,” ending nearly a decade of close cooperation that included training programmes, arms purchases and counter-terrorism support.
At the centre of the dispute is Fred Lumbuye, an outspoken online commentator and fierce critic of President Yoweri Museveni, who reportedly faces multiple criminal charges in Turkey, including incitement to violence, spreading false information and computer misuse. Turkish authorities are said to have pushed for his extradition, a demand that has drawn sharp pushback from Kampala.
Army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the president’s son, is understood to have repeatedly clashed with Turkish officials over the extradition efforts in recent weeks, with tensions boiling over into Friday’s suspension announcement.
The row spilled onto the streets of Kampala on Friday, when thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish embassy in a show of solidarity with Lumbuye, chanting slogans and demanding that Ankara drop its pursuit of the critic.
Uganda and Turkey have built increasingly close military ties over the past decade, with Turkish firms and trainers playing a growing role in equipping and training Ugandan forces. The suspension marks one of the most significant ruptures in that relationship to date, and it remains unclear how long it will last or what conditions Kampala is demanding before cooperation resumes.
Neither the Turkish embassy in Kampala nor officials in Ankara had issued a public response to the suspension by the time of publication. Analysts say the standoff could carry wider implications for regional security cooperation, given Turkey’s expanding footprint across East Africa in recent years, including defence agreements with several neighbouring states.
For now, the UPDF says the freeze stands “with immediate effect,” leaving open the question of whether diplomatic channels can resolve the impasse before it further strains ties between Kampala and Ankara.