Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) has moved to enforce professional military service in the army with zero tolerance for servicemen who still have behaviours that are "uncouth”, military spokesperson Brig. Gen Ronald Rwivanga said on Wednesday, June 14.

Rwivanga was addressing members of the media to shed light on the recent dismals that saw two generals fired from the force.

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They include Maj Gen Aloys Muganga and Brig Gen Francis Mutiganda. Also dismissed were 116 other ranks while 112 service contracts were recessed.

"Aloys Muganga was dismissed for excessive drunkenness which is unacceptable and unfit for a soldier in the RDF, while Francis Mutiganda was dismissed for gross insubordination.”

Rwivanga explained that gross insubordination is committed when a military officer deliberately disobeys specific orders from their superior.

While a group of eight soldiers is currently being tried in court, both generals are not part of that trial, Rwivanga added.

"Majority have been charged with theft, drug abuse, smuggling among others.”

Not all dismissed soldiers will be court martialled, but Rwivanga said, the military prosecution "is handling case by case to assess who is taken to courts of law.”

"There are manners that are unfit for soldiers,” Rwivanga asserted.

Upon dismissal, officers are not eligible for privileges, "because we don&039;t want other soldiers to follow suit.”

Reacting to the grounds for termination of military service, Col Lambert Sendegeya, in charge of RDF personnel said that there are 10 ways under which soldiers terminate their respective military service.

They include retirement, end of service contract, rescission of service contract, granted request, and discharge.

Others are demobilization, downsizing, dismissal, permanent transfer to another state organ as well as stripping off military ranks.

"The recent announcement affected only two categories which include dismissal as well as rescission of service contract.”

Not related to armor changes

Rwivanga also dismissed allegations that the recent dismissal and termination of military service is related to the changes in the military combat uniforms, where officers and junior soldiers in the RDF now wear army insignia on the chest.

"The dismissals are not related to those changes, they just happened to coincide,” he said.

The change, he reiterated, applies to the army fatigue for fieldwork in security management or on the battlefield.

As observed, for officers who wore the ranks on both shoulders or for junior soldiers who wore a ranking patch in yellow or sky blue for the Air Force, on the right shoulder, they were all put in a military green color to be worn on the chest part of the uniform shirt.

Previously, Maj. Gen Muganga served as acting Chief of Staff, RDF Reserve Force, in 2018, and later in 2019 was appointed the commander of the mechanised division.

Brig Gen Mutiganda on the other hand served as the Director General, External Security at the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) until October 2018 when he was called back to RDF Headquarters.

The dismissals and contract recessions came less than a day after President Kagame made major changes in the military, defence, and intelligence ranks.

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In the new appointments, Juvenal Marizamunda was named the new Minister of Defence, replacing Maj Gen Albert Murasira while Lt Gen Mubarak Muganga was named the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), replacing Gen Jean Bosco Kazura, among the major changes.