Uganda's Defence Chief Executes Swift Diplomatic U-Turn on US Relations
In a remarkable display of diplomatic whiplash, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, dramatically severed ties with the United States on Friday, only to reverse his position completely within hours, labeling the US as "great friends" of Uganda.
The Initial Break and Subsequent Apology
The extraordinary sequence began when Kainerugaba, who also serves as Senior Presidential Advisor/Special Operations (SPA/SO), announced on social media platform X that Uganda was suspending all cooperation with the current administration at the US Embassy in Kampala. He accused American diplomats of coordinating with missing opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has been absent since this month's elections.
However, in a stunning reversal just hours later, Kainerugaba issued a public apology to what he now called "our great friends the United States." He stated, "I want to apologise to our great friends the United States for my earlier tweets that I have now deleted. I was being fed with wrong information. I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country and everything is okay."
Diplomatic Intervention and Clarification
The swift resolution appears to have been facilitated by diplomatic channels. Kainerugaba specifically thanked Adonia Ayebare, Uganda's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, whom he described as a "super diplomat" for "quickly resolving any issues we might have had with our good friends the United States of America."
Ambassador Ayebare responded positively to the clarification, stating, "Thank you General for this clarification. Our relationship with the United States of America is mutually beneficial and resilient."
The Controversial Deleted Post
According to reports from AFP, the initial post that triggered this diplomatic incident contained serious allegations. Kainerugaba had written: "Because of the present situation where an opposition leader kidnapped himself and is missing; and according to our best intelligence did all this in co-ordination with the current administration at the US Embassy in our country (...) we as UPDF suspend ALL cooperation with the current administration at the US Embassy in Kampala."
He further specified that this suspension would extend to Uganda's military cooperation in Somalia, where Ugandan forces constitute the main contingent of the international coalition combating Islamist insurgents. This post was subsequently deleted following the resolution of the diplomatic misunderstanding.
Who Is Muhoozi Kainerugaba?
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba commands significant influence as both the leader of the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) and the son of President Yoweri Museveni, who has governed Uganda for four decades and recently secured a seventh term in office at age 81.
Considered by many observers as the likely successor to his father's presidency, Kainerugaba maintains an active and often provocative presence on social media. His recent online activity has included:
- Threatening to hunt down and eliminate opposition leader Bobi Wine
- Boasting about military operations that resulted in 30 fatalities among Wine's supporters
- Announcing the arrest of approximately 2,000 additional individuals since the election
This incident highlights the delicate nature of international relations and how quickly diplomatic positions can shift based on new information and high-level interventions. The episode also underscores the significant role that social media now plays in official communications between nations, with potentially immediate global consequences.
