President Paul Kagame and the Commander in Chief of Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) has made changes in RDF leadership that saw Major General Mubarak Muganga promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Army Chief Of Staff (ACOS).
New changes were announced on Friday 4th June 2021.
Among other appointments, Lieutenant General Jean Jacques Mupenzi has been appointed Airforce Chief of Staff while Major General Emmanuel Bayingana became a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.
Lt General Muganga has been the RDF Division Commander for Eastern Province and Kigali.
Muganga replaces Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi appointed Airforce Chief of Staff.
Lt Gen Muganga is among soldiers that liberated the country and stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In 2012, he was elevated from the rank of Brigadier General to Major General. He was the commander of RDF Fourth Division before leaving for studies overseas.
Upon return, he was appointed Commander of First Division.
Major General Mubarak Muganga promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Army Chief Of Staff.
Lt Gen Muganga is also the current Chairman of APR Football Club (APR FC), a position held since January 2021.
Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi
Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi was born in 1968 and previously served as the RDF Army Chief of Staff (ACOS). For the last 30 years of his military career the Gen has commanded Battalion, Brigade and Division both during peace time and war time.
He has been the Commandant of the Rwanda Defence Force Senior Command and Staff College and the Commander Mechanized Division.
The Gen has attended military courses both within Rwanda, Region and Abroad. He is a fellow of National Defence College (Karen-Kenya), Joint Passed Staff College (UK), Passed Staff College (Nigeria) and Army High Command Course (China).
Lt Gen Jean Mupenzi is a holder of Masters Degrees in Defence Studies and International Studies from Kings College London (UK) and Nairobi Universities respectively. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration.
He has served as the Rwandan Battalion Contingent Commander in Darfur in the AMIS and the Sector Commander in the UNMISS. The Gen has attended and participated in several Regional Field and Command Post Exercises intended to operationalize the African Stand-By Force (ASF) as well as Eastern African Stand-By Force. He has attended high level conferences/ seminars/ Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (USA) and Regional Senior Mission Leaders Course at International Peace Support Training Centre (Kenya).Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi has been appointed Airforce Chief of Staff.
The Gen is happily married and his hobbies include Jogging and reading military history books.
Who is Major Emmanuel Bayingana?
Major General Emmanuel Bayingana appointed PS in MINADEF has been serving as Airforce Chief Of Staff since September 2019.
Prior to that, he had been serving as Chief Executive Officer of Zigama CSS. Major General Bayingana joined the military twenty-nine years ago and was part of the force that engaged in the war for liberation of Rwanda on 1st October 1990.
After the military victory of 4th July 1994, he served in several appointments including: Member of the Military High Court, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Chief Instructor Rwanda Military Academy Nyakinama, Director for Plans at RDF HQs and Chief of Staff of the Ceasefire Commission under UNAMID.
Major General Emmanuel Bayingana is a graduate of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Accra Ghana and the United States Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, USA.
