{"id":122371,"date":"2026-04-18T09:54:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr"},"modified":"2026-04-18T10:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T10:36:48","slug":"muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr","title":{"rendered":"Muhoozi’S Row with T\u00fcrkiye Escalates, Museveni Cancels SGR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has said he will engage President Museveni to push for the cancellation of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) contract with Turkish construction firm Yap\u0131 Merkezi.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to speak to Mzee, we will cancel the contract we have with the Turkish company on the SGR. I have many Chinese companies that will do a better job for less money,\u201d Muhoozi wrote on his X account in the early hours of Friday.<\/p>\n

The remarks introduce fresh uncertainty around the Kisumu\u2013Malaba SGR extension, a flagship regional infrastructure project recently launched by President Museveni alongside William Ruto, and widely seen as critical to improving cargo movement along East Africa\u2019s busiest trade corridor.<\/p>\n

Muhoozi\u2019s comments come at a sensitive diplomatic moment, with Foreign Affairs Minister Abubaker Jeje Odongo currently in Tu\u0308rkiye attending the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026 from April 17 to 19.<\/p>\n

The high-level gathering, hosted at the NEST Congress and Exhibition Centre under the theme \u201cMapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,\u201d brings together global leaders to discuss investment and geopolitical cooperation.<\/p>\n

Odongo\u2019s visit follows a week of heightened diplomatic engagement between Kampala and Ankara, including two meetings with Turkey\u2019s ambassador to Uganda, amid concerns triggered by Muhoozi\u2019s recent social media posts.<\/p>\n

In one widely circulated message, Muhoozi stated that Uganda \u201cstands with Israel spiritually and strategically,\u201d signalling support for Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

In another, he warned that \u201cany aggression against Israel will have consequences for its adversaries,\u201d remarks analysts interpret as touching on sensitivities involving regional actors such as Iran and Turkey.<\/p>\n

Additional posts suggested Uganda would be \u201cready to act in defence of its allies if required,\u201d language that diplomats say departs from the country\u2019s long-held non-aligned posture and risks complicating foreign policy messaging.<\/p>\n

Officials in Kampala have moved to contain the fallout. Earlier this week, Odongo and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello separately met the Turkish ambassador, discussions understood to have focused on reaffirming bilateral ties and clarifying Uganda\u2019s official position.<\/p>\n

Analysts say Odongo\u2019s presence at the Antalya forum is likely to extend beyond economic diplomacy, with expectations that he will use the platform to reassure Turkish officials and emphasise continuity in Uganda\u2019s foreign policy, despite increasingly public interventions by senior military figures.<\/p>\n

Muhoozi\u2019s latest comments on the SGR contract are likely to further test those reassurances, particularly given Turkey\u2019s growing role in Uganda\u2019s infrastructure sector and the strategic importance of the railway project to regional trade integration.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has said he will engage President Museveni to push for the cancellation of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) contract with Turkish construction firm Yap\u0131 Merkezi. \u201cI\u2019m going to speak to Mzee, we will cancel the contract we have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":122370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12,258],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-122371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","category-to-homepage","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nMuhoozi'S Row with T\u00fcrkiye Escalates, Museveni Cancels SGR - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Muhoozi'S Row with T\u00fcrkiye Escalates, Museveni Cancels SGR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T09:54:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T10:36:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776495319.306667.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Muhoozi’S Row with T\u00fcrkiye Escalates, Museveni Cancels SGR\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-18T09:54:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T10:36:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\"},\"wordCount\":446,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776495319.306667.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/muhoozis-row-with-turkiye-escalates-museveni-cancels-sgr\",\"name\":\"Muhoozi'S Row with T\u00fcrkiye Escalates, Museveni Cancels SGR - 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