Uganda’s president fires son from leading army after Kenya invasion tweet
- Uproar in Kenya after the commander of Uganda’s land forces tweeted ‘capture Nairobi’
- Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is widely regarded his father’s chosen successor
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni fired his son as commander of the nation’s infantry forces after the son tweeted an unprovoked threat to capture the capital of neighbouring Kenya, drawing widespread concern in East Africa.
Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, dubbed ‘the tweeting general’ of Uganda, in recent months had sparked anger among some Ugandans who see his frequent posts on Twitter as provocative and sometimes even dangerous.
He has tweeted in support of the Tigray rebels fighting Ethiopian federal troops. He’s voiced support for violent rebels fighting in eastern Congo.
He said all Africans support Russia in its war in Ukraine. Bizarrely, he recently said he was offering 100 long-horned cattle – apparently as bride price – for Italy’s incoming female prime minister.
Some of Kainerugaba’s supporters say his tweets are attempts at humour and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Kainerugaba later said the comments were made in jest.
But many others see a bigger problem. As an army officer, he is constitutionally barred from engaging in partisan politics and some Ugandans point out that any other soldier tweeting like Kainerugaba would be court-martialed.