Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba (L) exchanges a document with his father, President Museveni on May 3, 2023. PHOTO/PPU
The internet was once again left buzzing Saturday after President Museveni’s son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba who has been mobilizing support ahead of 2026 presidential elections announced that he would not contest for the country’s highest public office that has been occupied by his father for nearly four decades.
Gen Muhoozi who now serves as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Ugandan military (Uganda People's Defence Forces), has in the past two years been mobilising and assuring his supporters that he would replace his father come 2026 presidential elections, despite President Museveni's public assurances that there was no such plan.
Uganda's Constitution and the UPDF Act bar serving military officers from expressing political views until they are officially retired from the UPDF but Gen Muhoozi has been openly making political statements and addressing political rallies reportedly organised and funded by his supporters unhindered.
“I would like to announce that I will not be on the ballot paper in 2026. Almighty God told me to focus on His army first. So, I fully endorse President Yoweri Museveni in the next elections,” Gen Muhoozi posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
The presidential advisor special operations was controversially appointed CDF by his long-serving father on March 21, 2024 after commanding the UPDF land forces for three years. He replaced Gen Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, a career military officer who was appointed junior minister for trade, industry and cooperatives when Mr Museveni, a former guerrilla leader reshuffled his cabinet early this year.
In another tweet that followed about an hour after the declaration, the 50-year-old heir apparent to the presidency told his over 95,000 X followers that “for me nothing on this earth is more holier than UPDF! So, I cannot think of a greater honour than being in UPDF. It is holy ground!! God bless holy UPDF and sacred Uganda forever” before warning that no civilian would lead Uganda after his ageing father, a former rebel leader who recently celebrated his 80th birthday.
But as social media users were still debating his posts, the controversial general, asked his “millions of supporters”, especially mobilisers of his political pressure group, Patriotic League Uganda (PLU) to support Mr Museveni who plans to extend his grip on power in 2026.
“The future belongs to our mighty God alone, and we shall triumph in His name,” he posted before taking a swipe at international media whose journalists he described as “low-life” planning to pen opinions about his presidential ambitions.
“Now some 'low-life' foreign journalists are going to write op-eds in their Western papers saying 'Museveni's Son a Threat to Ugandan Democracy'. Egged on no doubt by internal and foreign enemies who want to enslave our country again. When we were fighting for Ugandan freedom in Teso, Lango, Bundibugyo, Garamba, Mogadishu, Juba and Bor those 'fake lovers' of Uganda were nowhere to be seen. Back then for them it wouldn't have mattered if our impoverished country was destroyed forever. Now they perceive that there is profit to be made from our now prosperous nation. Fellow Ugandans, resisting the imperialists is a patriotic duty!” he posted.
For about two years, Gen Muhoozi and his supporters have traversed the country whose median age is 15.9 years, celebrating birthday parties and other events in which they announced he (Muhoozi) as their preferred candidate for the 2026 presidential elections, whose date the electoral commission has just set to about January 12, 2026.
And in March 2024, when Gen Kainerugaba was appointed the CDF, the highest office in Uganda’s military, supporters thought he had been rewarded with more powers and influence while political pundits said the standby generator as his supporters preferred to call him, had been switched off.
They observed that his appointment could have been a reminder that he is a serving soldier and should steer clear of politics because the Political Parties and Organisations Act (Section 16) says: “A member of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Uganda Police Force, the Uganda Prisons Service or a public officer or a traditional or cultural leader or a person employed in a company wholly owned by the government shall not- (a) be a founder, promoter or another member of a political party or organisation; (B) hold office in a political party/organisation; (C) Speak in public or publish anything involving matters of political or organisation controversy; or (d) engage in canvassing support of a political party or organisation or of a candidate standing for public election sponsored by a political party or organisation.”
But Gen Muhoozi had moved on with his mobilisation unhindered by this law.
Last month, he fired at his brother-in-law, Mr Odrek Rwabwogo, a presidential advisor on exports, who sources indicate is harbouring presidential ambitions and enjoys the support of some members of Museveni’s family. He accused his father of hobnobbing with Rwabwogo, yet he has kept his supporter and mobiliser Mr Michael Mawanda (Bushenyi District's Igara East MP) in jail.
Mr Rwabwogo’s team quickly responded with a statement, saying the remarks attributed to the general were instigated by intrigue.
But Gen Kainerugaba’s supporters also responded with a statement signed by one legislator Mr Daudi Kabanda, who vowed to “fiercely” push back the “inherently inaccurate’’ information.
“As PLU, we want to assure every good meaning Ugandan to treat it as baseless, ungrounded, and unsubstantiated,” he said.
However, without divulging details, President Museveni asked his party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) members to avoid “unprincipled conflicts” and focus on the party’s principles of Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-Economic transformation, and democracy.
“Our mission is not personal gain, but the advancement of the people of Uganda,” President Museveni said last weekend during discussions with members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) caucus at State House, Entebbe.
To Gen Muhoozi, the corrupt and thieves enjoying their loot in his father's backyard with his protection will soon be gotten rid of.
"As for the corrupt and thieves, Mzee is going to get rid of all them. We will not accept 'State Capture' in Uganda. There will be no Guptas here. Mzee knows that the revolution demands the removal of bad seed as a minimum," Gen Muhoozi declared.
For now, political analysts believe President Museveni’s next term of office, which is as assured as sunset come 2026, will be dominated by more internal fights for supremacy among family members than political fights since political parties and their leaders have either been integrated into the ruling party or have been bribed to silence.
Whichever role Gen Kainerugaba takes could determine how or when Museveni leaves power.
"On PLU members who want to contest for parliament, nothing is stopping you from doing that. PLU is a civic organisation not a political party. You are absolutely free to contest. For now I advise you to subscribe to NRM. That's the political party that is most closely aligned to our values," Gen Muhoozi added on X.
