The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), has promoted RDF personnel, including four senior officers who have been elevated from the rank of Brigadier General to Major General on December 19, 2023.
The officers promoted from the rank of Colonel to Brigadier General were 17, while 83 Lieutenant Colonels were promoted to Colonel. Those promoted from the rank of Major to Lieutenant Colonel were 98, while 295 captains were promoted to the rank of Major.
Four Lieutenants were promoted to the rank of Captain while 226 Non-Commissioned Officers were promoted to Second Lieutenant.
The new promotions come six months after Kagame dismissed 14 senior officers from the RDF in June 2023, including Major General Aloys Muganga and Brigadier General Francis Mutiganda.
Muganga had been appointed commander of mechanised forces in 2019, while Mutiganda had been in charge of external security at the NISS until October 2018, when he was called back to RDF headquarters in an unspecified role.
In addition to the 14 other sacked officers, Kagame also authorised the dismissal of 116 other ranks and approved the rescission of 112 other ranks.
The new promotions are being looked at as a move to fill the existing command gaps created by the dismissals.