Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni apologized on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 for his son’s diatribes on Twitter, which had notably threatened to invade Kenya.
The unfriendly remarks at the start of the week by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of the Head of State, offended the Kenyan neighbor. The eldest of the president, aged 48, had notably suggested that it would take him and his army two weeks to seize the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi.
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 3, 2022
General Kainerugaba had also reprimanded, still on the social network, the former head of state Uhuru Kenyatta for not having represented himself in the last presidential election in August, despite the Constitution which prohibits serving more than two terms.
In his statement, the Ugandan president criticized his son for “interfering in business” of Kenya, and having spoken publicly on political issues, which is normally prohibited for any military official.
Dear Ugandans, the brotherly people of Kenya, and all East Africans. I greet all of you.
I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for the tweets sent by General Muhoozi.Below is my full statement https://t.co/2xQjFNge2G pic.twitter.com/CmgnknFpUt
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) October 5, 2022
“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us,” also wrote Yoweri Museveni, who has presided over Uganda since 1986 with an iron fist. The 78-year-old head of state has left the door open for a new presidential candidacy in 2026.
The Ugandan president has conveyed his apologies to his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto, who was sworn in last month.
The outcry on social media prompted the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement saying its “commitment to good neighborliness (and) peaceful coexistence” with Kenya.
The Ugandan Ministry of Defense announced on October 4 that Muhoozi Kainerugaba was replaced by another soldier at the head of the country’s land forces, but was elevated to the rank of general. President Museveni, however, was careful to praise the “positive contributions that the General has made and can still make”.
The previous comments on Twitter by Muhoozi Kainerugaba in favor of the rebels of the Tigray region in Ethiopia, in conflict for two years with the federal authorities, had also angered the authorities of Addis Ababa.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is used to expressing himself freely on the social network. Even recently, he declared his love for Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right party, Fratelli d’Italia, won the last legislative elections. To marry her, he said he was ready to offer 100 cows as a dowry.
I would give her 100 Nkore cows immediately! For being fearless and true!! pic.twitter.com/i2DuR8RioC
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 2, 2022