Brig Ronnie Balya has been dropped by President Museveni and replaced as director general of the Internal Security Organization by Maj (rtd) Kaka Bagyenda.
Balya, who was named head of ISO in 2010, has been appointed ambassador in a yet-to-be-disclosed country. This reshuffle of security officers is the third this month since the January 10 and January 13 army changes.
Not much is known about Maj Bagyenda who retired from the army in 2009 into private business. Born in the western district of Ibanda, he is said to have joined the bush war in the early 1980s. After the war, he worked in military intelligence.
As part of his business interests, he established a tourist resort hotel on Kalangala island.
WHO IS BALYA?
Balya was born in 1961 in the western district of Kabarole in the Tooro sub-region. He studied at Makerere University, graduating with a Bachelor of Social Sciences. He also earned a master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Balya was selected to attend a strategic command and leadership course at the National Defence College in Nairobi, Kenya, where he excelled. He has undertaken various intelligence courses in Russia, America and Britain.
He joined the National Resistance Army in 1985. He served initially as a district internal security officer in northern and western Uganda. In 1997, Balya was moved to the headquarters where he served in various capacities as director of the ISO inspectorate, director analysis, and director technical intelligence.
In August 2006, Balya was appointed deputy director general of ISO. On July 27, 2010, Balya was appointed director general of ISO, replacing Amos Mukumbi who was faulted for failing to foil the Kampala terrorism attacks, which killed more than 80 people.
In December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In February 2014, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier.
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