05/10/2022
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni apologized on Wednesday for a social media tirade by his outspoken son that included a threat to invade Kenya and remarks about the country’s recent elections.
The rant on Twitter earlier this week by Museveni’s 48-year-old son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, caused offence in Kenya, and angry calls for a formal explanation from Uganda.
“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us,” said Museveni, who has ruled Uganda uninterrupted since 1986, and has the support of party leaders to run again in the 2026 polls.
“It is not correct for public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries.”
Museveni said he had conveyed these remarks to William Ruto, who was sworn in as Kenya’s president last month.
Uganda's defense ministry announced Tuesday that Muhoozi Kainerugaba, was being replaced by another military officer as head of the country's ground forces, hours after his tweet caused an uproar in Kenya.
Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga "has been appointed commander of the ground forces," according to a ministry statement, replacing Kainerugaba.
The ministry also announced that President Museveni had promoted his 48-year-old son to the rank of general, a move seen by analysts interviewed by AFP as cosmetic.
"It wouldn't take me and my army two weeks to capture Nairobi," he said in the tweet Monday night, before doing an about-face in a second.
"I will never beat the Kenyan army because my father told me never to attempt it! So our people in Kenya should relax!"
The outcry on social media prompted Uganda's foreign ministry to issue a statement saying its "commitment to good neighborliness (and) peaceful coexistence" with Kenya.
Dubbed 'the tweeting general' of Uganda, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in recent months had sparked anger among some Ugandans who see his regular posts on Twitter as provocative and sometimes even dangerous.
His tweets in support of Tigrayan rebels in northern Ethiopia angered Addis Ababa, while his thoughts on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and last year’s coup in Guinea also raised eyebrows.
His father Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, may again run for president in the 2026 election.
