First Son Muhoozi Kainerugaba has been promoted to a full General and dropped as UPDF land forces commander.
In his place, Maj Gen Kayanja Muhanga has been promoted to Lt Gen and appointed land forces commander. Muhanga currently serves as commander of the UPDF contingent in Eastern DRC under operation code named Operation Shujja.
The changes, which are still unravelling, were made by President Museveni.
The army spokesman, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye, said he was unaware of the changes but sources close to the President said the official changes will be announced by the Defence ministry later.
The changes on the backdrop of tweets by Kainerugaba about Kenya.
It is not immediately clear whether the changes were related to Kainerugaba’s tweets that have sparked off a diplomatic rift with its neighbour.
However, Kainerugaba had hinted about the changes in his Tuesday morning tweet.
“Had a good discussion with my great father this morning. Apparently, my tweets scared Kenyans too much? He will announce the changes. There is a special prayer I shall make for our army,” Gen Kainerugaba tweeted on Tuesday, 04 October 2022.
He had also changed his Twitter status from Commander of Land Forces.
Ugandan officials on Tuesday, 04 October 2022 rushed to assure Kenya of strong bilateral ties between the two countries.
Uganda’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vincent Waiswa Bagiire, on Tuesday, 04 October 2022 held a meeting with Kenya High Commissioner to the country, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) George Aggrey Owinow, to assure him of warm diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda also issued a statement, saying it respects the relationship between Uganda and “our brotherly neighbour, the Republic of Kenya.”
“The Ministry wishes to emphasize that the Government and the people of the Republic of Uganda treasure the existing strong bilateral relations between the people and the Government of the Republic of Kenya based on our shared history, common values, mutual respect, trust and the desire to build a unified East African Community. To this end, the Government of the Republic of Uganda wishes to reiterate its commitment to good neighbourliness, peaceful co-existence and cooperation,” the Ministry said.
It also said the Government of the Republic of Uganda does not conduct its Foreign Policy and other official business through social media nor does it depend on social media sources in dealing with other sovereign Governments.
“The Government of the Republic of Uganda, therefore, wishes to reiterate its cordial relationship with the Republic of Kenya and assure the people and the Government of the Republic of Kenya of our harmonious relationship that we value,” it added.
The diplomatic rift has drawn the attention of President Museveni who has held a telephone conversation with Kainerugaba over his controversial tweets about Kenya.
While the subject of the discussion could not immediately be established, sources close to the President intimated to this website that he was worried about the tweets, signalling that they might have caused a diplomatic standoff with Kenya.
“From his reaction, a concern must have come from somewhere else, may be President William Ruto,” the source said.
Gen Kainerugaba himself tweeted about the discussion with his father.
“Had a good discussion with my great father this morning. Apparently, my tweets scared Kenyans too much? He will announce the changes. There is a special prayer I shall make for our army,” Gen Kainerugaba tweeted on Tuesday, 04 October 2022.
This after Kainerugaba on Monday went on a Twitter meltdown, warning that he would only need two weeks with his army to capture Nairobi.
In his tweets, he blamed retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he refers to as his “big brother”, for not contesting for a third term in the August 2022 polls, adding the retired president could have easily won the election.
“My only problem with my big brother is that he did not stand for a third term. We would have won easily,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Haha! I love my Kenyan relatives. Constitution? Rule of law? You must be joking! For us (Uganda), there is only the Revolution and you will soon learn about it!”
Muhoozi sensationally claimed on the same platform he needs a fortnight to topple President Ruto’s government.
“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted.
This is not the first time Muhoozi is causing controversy over his tweets. Over the last three years, Lt Gen Muhoozi, who is also a son of President Museveni, has become increasingly active on Twitter and since 2020, his posts (or tweets, as they are known on Twitter), have become more and more colourful.
On Tuesday, March 8, the Commander of the army’s Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, took to the microblogging platform Twitter and announced that he was resigning from the army.
“After 28 years of service in my glorious military, the greatest military in the world, I am happy to announce my retirement. Me and my soldiers have achieved so much! I have only love and respect for all those great men and women that achieve greatness for Uganda every day.”
Later that day, in a conversation with his friend and journalist Andrew Mwenda, who drove to meet him and seek clarification on that surprise announcement on Twitter, Muhoozi appeared to alter his earlier statement, this time saying he intends to retire from the army in eight years’ time, which would be 2030.
President Museveni in June reportedly stopped top military commanders, including Kainerugaba, from commenting about security and foreign policy issues on social media platforms.
The decision followed a meeting the Commander-in-Chief held with service chiefs in the south-western Ntungamo District at the weekend, days after Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (D/CDF), Lt Gen Peter Elwelu, placed Uganda’s military on Standby Class 1.
