Peter Elwelu

Peter Elwelu is a retired Lieutenant General in the Ugandan military, known formally as the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). He was the Deputy Chief of the Defense Forces of the UPDF from 24 June 2021 until his retirement. Following his appointment on 9 January 2017, he served as the commander of the land forces, which is the third-highest position in the UPDF hierarchy. From June 2013 until January 2017, he was the commander of the UPDF 2nd division, based in Mbarara, the largest town in Uganda's Western Region.

Military career Elwelu joined the Ugandan military in 1987. He first attended the Tanzania Military Academy in Monduli. Following that, he was posted to the military installation at Kabamba. In 1995, he was transferred to the Gaddafi military barracks at Jinja, at the Cadet Officer School.

He served as a commander within the UPDF when it intervened in Zaire and overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, alongside the Rwandan military. He returned to Uganda in 1999 and was deployed to the Northern Region to fight Joseph Kony and his guerilla Lord's Resistance Army. During that tour, he survived being shot in the back. Before that, he had served as the commander of the UPDF 3rd Division based at Moroto. At least 153 people, including children, died during these clashes.

Major General Elwelu, in his capacity as the UPDF Land forces commander, made his first visit to UPDF troops in Somalia under AMISOM on Wednesday 22 March 2017. According to the spokesman of the Ugandan contingent in Somalia, the general's visit was to "check on the operational tempo, boost the morale of the troops and also update the troops on the situation in Uganda".

In February 2019, over 2,000 men and women in the UPDF received promotions. Peter Elwelu was one of those promoted from the rank of Major General to that of Lieutenant General.