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Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has paid tribute to Gen Elly Tumwine, who has died aged 68, saying he “fired the first shot” in the revolution that brought him to power.
He was referring to a raid by National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels on a military barracks in 1981.
An army statement added that Gen Tumwine, who joined the resistance in 1979, had also lost his eye in a battle during the five-year bush war and praised his “contribution to the revolution”. He was often pictured wearing dark sunglasses.
The general, who had lung cancer, was airlifted to a hospital in Kenya’s capital Nairobi two weeks ago.
In a series of tweets, the 77-year-old president spoke with admiration about a “dedicated and hard-working cadre”. ENDS