Africa-Press. Remarks by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, chief of staff of the Ugandan army and son of President Yoweri Museveni, have triggered angry reactions in the United States. In a series of posts on the X platform, he accused the US embassy in Kampala of helping opposition leader Bobi Wine escape from his home during a military raid that followed the announcement of the presidential election results on 15 January.
Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced strong outrage on the same platform, saying the comments warrant a reassessment of Washington’s security partnership with Uganda.
Risch said General Kainerugaba had “crossed red lines”, adding that the United States “will not tolerate this level of instability and irresponsibility”.
General Kainerugaba posted several messages attacking the US embassy and claiming it had assisted Bobi Wine’s escape during the raid. He also announced a suspension of all forms of cooperation with the US embassy, before deleting his posts and issuing an apology, saying: “I spoke with the US ambassador and everything is fine. We will continue our military cooperation”.
However, this reversal did little to ease criticism in Washington. Senator Risch described Kainerugaba’s apology as “insincere”, noting that “the president’s son — who is expected to succeed him — cannot simply delete his posts and apologize as if nothing had happened”. He warned that continued behaviour of this kind threatens the stability of the partnership between the two countries.
