UgandaToday: Retired General Elwelu’s “Ghostly Exercises” Spark Social Media Frenzy
Kampala, Uganda — A video of retired Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) General Peter Elwelu energetically engaging in unusual morning exercises has gone viral, stirring a mix of laughter, satire, and unease among Ugandans online.
In the short clip, the former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces can be seen performing an odd blend of applying a sports hammer to repeatedly hit three truck tyres spread inches away from one another, far removed from the ordinary push-ups and jogging routines associated with soldiers. His movements, intense but unconventional, quickly caught the attention of Ugandans across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and WhatsApp groups.
One social media enthusiast captured the mood bluntly:
“The ghosts of Kasese are haunting General Elwelu to the extent that instead of doing the usual common physical exercises, he is doing unique exercises just like how mad people do.”
Another added a sarcastic twist:
“When you command a massacre, even your muscles remember. That’s not exercise — that’s penance.”
Others, with a mix of dark humor and cultural undertones, quipped:
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“Those are not workouts, that’s dodging ghosts of the Omusinga’s guards.”
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“Ugandans can laugh, but this man is training for Judgment Day fitness tests.”
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“First time I see a General doing aerobics designed by restless spirits.”
The Shadow of Kasese
The comments are a satirical reference to Elwelu’s most controversial moment in military service — the November 2016 Rwenzururu kingdom invasion.
As then Commander of the UPDF’s 2nd Division, Elwelu spearheaded the palace raid on Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere’s residence in Kasese, which left more than 100 royal guards dead, the palace burned, and the kingdom thrown into disarray.
Government at the time described the operation as a “counter-terrorism” measure against armed separatists, but human rights groups branded it a massacre. Families of the victims continue to seek justice, while the incident remains one of Uganda’s darkest episodes of state-sanctioned violence.
Who is General Peter Elwelu?
Born in 1966 June 12, in Kumi District, Peter Elwelu joined the National Resistance Army (NRA) during in 1987 and rose through UPDF ranks. Known for his fiery, uncompromising style, Elwelu quickly established himself as one of the army’s most outspoken commanders.
After the Kasese operation, he was controversially promoted to Commander of Land Forces (CLF) in 2017. In 2021, he became Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, a position he held until his retirement in July 2025.
Though hailed by some as a “loyal soldier who carried out difficult orders,” Elwelu has never shaken off the shadow of Kasese, with critics insisting that the ghosts of the dead continue to haunt both his reputation and public memory.
Comedy Meets Tragedy
The viral video has reopened old wounds while simultaneously giving Ugandans another chance to flex their signature resilience — using humor to confront trauma.
As one netizen summed it up:
“Only in Uganda can a General’s exercise routine become a national comedy show — and at the same time a reminder of unhealed scars.”
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