Muhoozi bounces back on Twitter with a bang
Uganda’s first son and commander of the Land Forces, Lt-Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Earlier, his spokesperson, Lt Col Chris Magezi, had warned that the commander of the Land Forces would only return to Twitter after it had changed ownership to Elon Musk.
The UPDF Commander of the Land Forces and First Son, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has reactivated his Twitter account, days after it became inactive.
“Never fear my followers and supporters, I’m back. I had some decisions to make,” Gen Muhoozi tweeted on Saturday shortly after reactivating the account.
He boasts of more than 540,000 followers.
Last week, Gen Muhoozi’s social media account was deactivated, leaving many of his followers in suspense.
He had earlier warned that he was being targeted by Twitter “for silencing”.
“To all revolutionaries, all fighters for truth, justice and an egalitarian world! I hear that some of us small voices for the billions of voiceless have been targeted by big tech for silencing. No worries! The undeniable truth of the oppressed masses shall always win,” he tweeted before his account became dormant.
Earlier, his spokesperson, Lt Col Chris Magezi, had warned that the commander of the Land Forces would only return to Twitter after it had changed ownership to Elon Musk.
“I shall rejoin Twitter when Elon Musk, a fellow African (and also the richest man on earth), acquires the whole company. At least then we will know the voice of the black man will be heard,” Lt Col Magezi tweeted.
The reactivation comes a few days to Lt Gen Muhoozi’s 48th birthday celebrations slated for April 24.
“I am very happy to announce that my uncle, the very great Commander, President and leader of Rwanda will be attending my birthday celebration,” Gen Muhoozi tweeted on Saturday.
Many critics have taken a swipe at the Commander of Land Forces in the recent past over his views on social media, saying he is departing from the tenets of a serving soldier.
Controversial
He has tweeted subjects considered a taboo for active-duty UPDF officers such as local politics, foreign affairs and international security --- public expressions for which in the past other officers such as Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde have been prosecuted.
Lt Gen Muhoozi has tweeted about siding with Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, and said Uganda would be on the side of Tigray in their rebellion against Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy’s government.
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The surprise, which made it difficult to distinguish the fact and fable in his posts on the micro-blogging sites, was his announcement last month that he had retired from the army, only for the UPDF to say he had never applied for retirement and that he was very much part of the armed forces.
Unlike in the past, UPDF spokespeople now say Lt Gen Muhoozi enjoys the constitutionally-guaranteed individual right of expression.
