By Dean Lubowa Saava
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have arrested Hamza Lyavara, a local imam and suspected operative linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), on allegations that he deliberately misled military intelligence while posing as a trusted informant.
Security sources told this Investigative media publication of TV10 that Lyavara, known for his background in religious indoctrination and technical expertise in explosives, is suspected of feeding distorted intelligence to Uganda’s Defence Intelligence structures while maintaining clandestine ties with Meddie Nkalubo, a top ADF commander currently wanted by both Ugandan and international security agencies.
The Allegations
According to officials familiar with the matter, Lyavara had built credibility within certain intelligence circles by sharing limited, verifiable information from within ADF ranks. However, investigators now believe that he used this trust to influence operations and mislead national security planners about ongoing threats. “His role appears to have been to pass on fragments of truth, cloaked in misinformation, which in effect undermined counterterrorism efforts,” a senior official said. “This is a matter now under serious investigation.”
Wider Investigation
Lyavara’s arrest forms part of a wider security probe ordered by Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, targeting suspected breaches and misinformation within the military intelligence system.
Recently, two senior UPDF intelligence officers—Colonel Peter Ahimbisibwe, Director of Counter Terrorism, and Lieutenant Colonel Ephraim Byaruhanga, Director of Special Operations—were also detained at Defence Intelligence headquarters in Mbuya as part of the same investigation.
“It is alleged that their departments may have been manipulated or infiltrated in ways that led to false reporting and operational missteps,” a source added. It is alleged they claimed to have disrupted terror attacks in Uganda, which was not the case.
The Nkalubo ‘Death’ Report
Lyavara is now at the centre of renewed scrutiny over the widely reported claim in 2023 that ADF commander Meddie Nkalubo had been killed in a UPDF airstrike in the DRC. At the time, former Chief of Military Intelligence Maj Gen James Birungi reported to President Museveni that Nkalubo had been neutralized in strikes targeting ADF hideouts.
The report was later echoed in a televised presidential address in which Museveni declared Nkalubo dead. Security agencies celebrated the news. Then-joint security spokesperson Fred Enanga said Nkalubo’s death was “a significant blow” to the ADF’s operational capability.
However, it has since emerged that Nkalubo is still alive and active within ISCAP/ADF networks. New intelligence suggests he may have faked his death and used Lyavara as a channel to mislead Ugandan military intelligence, raising fears that Uganda’s top leadership may have been fed manipulated information at a strategic level.
Similarities to the Khost Double Agent
The Lyavara affair is now being likened to one of the most infamous intelligence failures in recent history: the 2009 suicide bombing at a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan.
In that case, Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor turned jihadist, posed as a double agent for Western intelligence, providing high-value information about al-Qaeda operations before detonating a suicide vest and killing seven American operatives.
Like Balawi, Lyavara reportedly offered real information to win the trust of his handlers, but behind the façade, he is now believed to have been operating in alignment with extremist interests, feeding Uganda’s intelligence system with calculated disinformation that altered strategic decisions at the highest level.
Next Steps
The UPDF has not yet released a formal statement on Lyavara’s arrest. More inquiries are expected as the internal probe continues to unfold.
