David Musuguri was born on 4 January 1920 in Butiama, Tanganyika. In 1938, he underwent bhakisero, a traditional rite of passage for Zanaki males involving the filing of the top incisors into triangular shapes.
Military career
In 1942, Musugiri enlisted in the King's African Rifles, beginning as a private. He later served with the KAR in Madagascar. By 1947 he was a sergeant and acted as an instructor at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, Kenya. While there he met future Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who was a pupil of his. In 1957, the British administration introduced the rank of effendi into the KAR, which was awarded to high performing African non-commissioned officers and warrant officers. Musuguri was given the rank. In December 1961, Tanganyika became a sovereign state and several units of the KAR was transferred to the newly formed Tanganyika Rifles. The rank of effendi was shortly thereafter abandoned, and, by 1962, Musuguri had been promoted to lieutenant. During the Tanganyika Rifles mutiny of January 1964, Musuguri was stationed in Tabora. Rebellious troops, attempting to remove and replace their British officers, declared him a major. Musuguri eventually rose to the rank of brigadier. In 1979, he was promoted to major general and given command of the Tanzanian People's Defence Force 's 20th Division, a force that had been assembled to invade Uganda following the outbreak of the Uganda–Tanzania War in 1978. During the war, he garnered the nom de guerre "General Mutukula", and successfully commanded his forces during the Battle of Simba Hills, Battles of Masaka, and Lukaya. In 1980, Musuguri was appointed Chief of the TPDF. On 30 December, President Julius Nyerere promoted him to lieutenant general. On 7 February 1981, Ugandan President Milton Obote gave Musuguri two spears in honor of "his gallant action in the Battle of Lukaya". During his tenure, he was accused of encouraging ethnic favoritism in the armed forces. He was opposed to withdrawing Tanzanian troops from Uganda in 1981 on the grounds that the country had not yet built a reliable armed force, but Nyerere overruled him. His retirement was announced on 31 August 1988.
