He served as a high-ranking commander during Idi Amin's rule as Ugandan President, first as the head of the 2nd Paratrooper Battalion and later for the Western Brigade.

Despite being regarded as a talented soldier and considered one of the Tanzanians' more dangerous opponents during the war, he was eventually arrested and executed on alleged treason charges by Amin's State Research Bureau.

According to journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey, the ambush at the Gayaza Hills was one of the few military operations skillfully carried out by the Uganda Army during the entire war.

[14] Yoweri Museveni –leader of the anti-Amin FRONASA rebels– argued that "Tizihwayo and Rwehururu [...] gave us a lot of trouble", expressing the view that they wasted their military talents by defending Amin’s regime.

[7] The State Research Bureau, Uganda's intelligence agency, considered the reports believable and arrested Tizihwayo,[18] eventually executing him in Kasese.

[2] Following Tizihwayo's death, the TPDF encountered only limited resistance in western Uganda, easily capturing Kasese, Fort Portal, Masindi, and other cities.