Tumukunde was hounded by the government security services during his last year at the university and, on completion of his education, decided to join the Ugandan Bush War, along with two of his friends at the time, Major General Mugisha Muntu and Colonel Jet Mwebaze.
[7] Obote's security services at the time caught wind of their impending departure for the bush and mounted an attack on the NRA's transit house, a shop in the country's capital city, Kampala.
In a press briefing, Tumukunde attributed his decision to the fact that the NRM party and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni were not ready to discuss a peaceful transition of power.
On capturing power, Tumukunde was promoted to the rank of major and appointed first secretary and military attache at the Ugandan Embassy in the United Kingdom.
[7] In 1994, Uganda held elections for the Constituent Assembly and Tumukunde sought to represent his home county, Rubabo in Rukungiri district.
[7] Following the adoption of the constitution, Uganda held elections and Tumukunde subsequently became a Member of Parliament representing the Army as a special interest group.
He later played a role in initiating the peace negotiations process with the rebels and also directed the army's efforts in containing the Ebola virus epidemic which had hit the Northern Uganda region at the time.
Tumukunde was taken to an officers' mess turned detention center, where he was incarcerated for nearly two years, during which time he had limited and tightly controlled contact with the outside world.
His extrajudicial detention coupled with a series of controversial and uncertain court martial hearings seemed to backfire leading to pressure culminating in his release in 2007.
His arrest followed his opposing views to the proposed "kisanja" project that suggested a revision to the Constitution of Uganda enabling one to serve an unlimited number of terms as president, removing the two-term maximum limit.
[12] On 18 April 2013, the UPDF General Court Martial sat to bring an end to the process that had lasted eight years and summed up its deliberations.
[14] Two days later, Tumukunde and Wine, along with fellow opposition presidential candidates Mugisha Muntu, Norbert Mao, and Patrick Amuriat Oboi, agreed to form an alliance.
[15] On 1 September 2015, the Daily Monitor reported that Tumukunde had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and then retired with full honours from the Army after thirty four years of service.