The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) yesterday again stirred the diplomatic spat between Uganda and the United States, with its acting spokesperson pouring fuel on the issue Sunday morning.
Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Commander of Defence Forces, had moved to calm the tension when he apologised for threatening to sever security cooperation between the two countries over allegations that the US had helped the National Unity Platform (NUP) party president, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, to escape from his home.
But the UPDF acting director of public Information, Col Chris Magezi, in a social media post, attacked the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, Senator Jim Risch (Republican, Idaho), whom he described as a wayward and loose cannon.
‘The UPDF pays allegiance to the President of the Republic of Uganda and the sovereign decisions made by the people. Therefore, threats and intimidation by a foreign power in our country’s internal affairs is an outdated colonial tactic that will be vigorously resisted, especially coming from a so-called senator,’ he said. Col Magezi added: ‘Uganda and the US have a strong history of cooperation across many fields, including in defence and security, health and education, and so on. The beneficial relationship between our two countries will not change because of one wayward and loose cannon senator.’
Sen Risch, while commenting on Daily Monitor story on X, formerly Twitter, about Gen Muhoozi’s threats to suspend security cooperation with the US, had condemned the remarks and asked for a re-evaluation of the partnership between the two countries. Sen Risch wrote: ‘Commander @mkainerugaba has crossed a red line, and now the US must re-evaluate its security partnership, which includes sanctions and military cooperation with Uganda. The president’s son, and likely successor, cannot just delete tweets and issue hollow apologies. The US will not tolerate this level of instability and recklessness when American personnel, US interests, and innocent lives in the region are at stake,’ Sen Risch said on Saturday.
Gen Muhoozi had on Friday night, posted on his X platform, accusing the US of helping Opposition leader Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, escape a military raid on his home. Gen Muhoozi then declared he had suspended security cooperation between the two countries. Bobi Wine was a presidential candidate in the January 15 elections, whose results he dismissed as a sham. But a day after the polls, soldiers raided his home at Magere in Wakiso District on the outskirts of Kampala City to arrest him over unknown offences. He escaped, and he is currently in hiding. In the succession of events, Gen Muhoozi described US Embassy officials as unimaginative bureaucrats who have been undermining the relationship between the two countries.
But hours later, in a climb down, Gen Muhoozi deleted the posts saying he had talked to the US Ambassador, and discovered that he (the CDF) had been fed with wrong information. ‘I want to apologise to our great friends, the United States, for my earlier tweets that I have now deleted. I was being fed wrong information. I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country, and everything is okay. We are going to continue our military cooperation as usual,’ Gen Muhoozi posted. In a quick follow up, Mr Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s ambassador to the United Nations, sought to de-escalate the tensions and insisted the relationship between the two countries is still strong.
‘Thank you, General, for this clarification. Our relationship with the US is mutually beneficial and resilient,’ he said. The US administration under President Donald Trump is known for taking any informal or formal statements made about the US and his government seriously, especially those that are considered negative. In July 2019, President Trump declined to work with the United Kingdom Ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, after a leaked cable published in the media in which the diplomat allegedly called his administration inept, insecure, and uniquely dysfunctional. Sir Darroch resigned his post. On Saturday, while on Capital Gang radio talk show, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister of Information, ICT and National Guidance, said Gen Muhoozi’s statements did not represent the position of the government.
‘The CDF doesn’t speak for the government of Uganda. but he likes Twitter (now X) communication. And he likes tweets. Sometimes, I don’t read them. Then, shortly, he deletes them. I am sure Ugandans have formed an opinion on his tweets. I don’t think, other than politicking, I don’t think they take them as the authentic position from the government of Uganda,’ Dr Baryomunsi said. He said he treats Gen Muhoozi’s comments as casual, which no right-thinking member of society would take seriously. But he admitted that Gen Muhoozi’s remarks were making his job difficult. ‘For the record, as the government spokesperson, I treat them as casual comments he makes on Twitter.
I have discussed this issue with the appointing authority and with the President. Admittedly, his tweets make my work a bit difficult,’ he said. But on Sunday, Col Magezi and several supporters of Gen Muhoozi took to social media to continue the attacks on the US, its senator, and anyone condemning the CDF’s remarks. Mr Andrew Mwenda, an open Gen Muhoozi’s confidant, posted that Gen Muhoozi doesn’t mind the US sanctions. ‘First, the CDF doesn’t mind USA sanctions. The USA has sanctioned Nelson Mandela, bugged Martin Luther King Jr, killed Patrice Lumumba, overthrown Kwame Nkrumah, and much worse. Progressive Africa does not expect any gifts from Washington.
What is nauseating is this constant use of threats as if we are children supposed to be managed by some white overlord as was in the colonial period,’ Mr Mwenda posted on his social media account. Col Magezi reposted Mr Mwenda’s remarks. Similarly, Mr David Kabanda, the secretary general of Patriotic League of Uganda, a political pressure group pushing to have Gen Muhoozi as Uganda”s next leader after President Museveni, also told Sen Risch to stop ‘ranting over deleted personal opinions on X’. ‘You have bigger issues/scandals to deal with in your backyard (Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Epstein files, etc.) than ranting over deleted personal opinions on X… Uganda’s future is well secured by its freedom fighters, not imperialists,’ said Mr Kabanda, the Member of Parliament for Kasambya County.