Gen Muhoozi: The Four-star brat

Leaders in the East African region are pushing hard to bring peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but their efforts could be frustrated because of the fire being fuelled by the head of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Over the past week, the UPDF boss, a son of President Yoweri Museveni, has been behaving like an enraged bull, warning of his imminent attack of the DRC region of Bunia, where he claims “his people” the Bahima-Tutsi clansmen, are being persecuted.

Last Sunday morning, Muhoozi also unleashed some shocking tweets against senior journalists, warning all media houses of an impending audit in Uganda and military training for the editors.

“My office will soon begin an audit on ALL media houses. These are the instructions of the commander-in-chief. All of you will report to my office from now! We are organising a cadre course (initial military training) for all MD’s of media houses. It will be a good one,” he posted on X. 

Despite holding a very extreme position on the DRC conflict, he was among the East African Community (EAC) military chiefs who convened in Nairobi this week to discuss hot to restore security in eastern DRC.

Against the grain

The meeting resulted from resolutions made at the EAC and Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Dar es Salaam two weeks ago, where all military chiefs from the region were directed to meet and address the situation in Goma city and other parts where fighting is going on.

The military heads signed a final report with key recommendations that will now be forwarded to the council of ministers for action. The communique called for immediate cessation of hostilities, provision of humanitarian assistance, providing security in Goma and reopening the airport, among other interventions.

But after the meeting, Muhoozi, who openly supports the M23 militia group that has taken over the Goma region, unleashed another warning on his favourite social media platform, calling for a stop to the alleged killing of the Bahima and Batutsi communities by DRC government supporters and the army.

“I know all Congolese love and respect me. I beg of you, my brothers, stop killing my people (Bahima/Batutsi). God will bless you if you help us.”

He asked the DRC leaders to take action against extremists, stating: “In fact, arrest and punish all those among you who are extremists.”

He warned: “We will act if the killings of our people do not immediately cease. We want proof that the killers of our people have been punished. Otherwise, we shall seize the town of Mahagi soon.”

In 2022, the Reuters news agency reported Muhoozi referring to the M23 militia group as “brothers of ours” fighting for the rights of Tutsis in Congo, a position he appears to still hold dearly today.

Muhoozi hails from the Banyankole tribe, also known as Bahima who are cousins to the Tutsi and Banyamulenge. The Bantu-speaking tribes are spread across Western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC and North Western Tanzania.

In another post that has now been deleted, Muhoozi declared a public hanging of criminals in the Eastern DRC town of Beni today, declaring: “The governor of North Kivu has my permission to carry out the order.”

The controversial soldier recently threatened to attack the city of Bunia after ordering all militia groups fighting in the area to surrender their weapons within 24 hours, and a day later, Uganda deployed more soldiers in the area.

In October 2022, he made headlines after he posted a series of outbursts threatening to invade Kenya and capture Nairobi in two weeks. 

The comment forced his father to step in. “I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi,” Museveni said, adding that public officers should not interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Muhoozi also apologised to President William Ruto after his tweets sparked a diplomatic storm.

Museveni, however, went ahead and promoted him to a four-star general shortly after “to encourage him for his positive contributions.”

He has also rattled Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, but on all occasions, the Ministry of Information in Uganda has distanced the government from his comments, claiming that they are personal views made in jest.

But Sudan reacted furiously while demanding an official apology, expressing condemnation of the “irresponsible and disparaging remarks” from a senior military officer.

Muhoozi had posted on X a “warning” to seize the Sudanese capital Khartoum upon the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20. 

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs termed the remarks “reckless and irresponsible,” describing them as a blatant violation of international law, diplomatic norms and a complete disregard for the principles of decorum and discipline expected from senior political and military officials.

Uganda’s Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Chris Baryomunsi, again apologised over Muhoozi’s posts, saying that was not the official position of the government.

“Regarding the comments attributed to general Muhoozi, the CDF, on DRC and Sudan, those are comments made on social media, casually, privately, and not the official position...,” Baryomunsi said.

In December, he angered Kinshasa when he again threatened to invade the country to root out white mercenaries.

For a week, Muhoozi made controversial posts. One of them read: “I’m going to give only ONE WARNING to ALL white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. From 2nd January 2025, we will attack all mercenaries in our area of operations.”

Irked by the statement, President Felix Chisekedi’s government summoned Uganda’s ambassador in Kinshasa demanding an explanation

Two weeks ago, Uganda MPs summoned a minister after Muhoozi threatened to “cut off” the head of politician Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.

Muhoozi is no ordinary soldier. His influence came to the fore when it was reported to have played a crucial role in normalising relations between Presidents Museveni and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame in 2019 after many years of frosty relations.

He has also talked about his intentions of succeeding his father, drawing a lot of reactions from Ugandans and neighbours in the East African region.

“I will be President of Uganda after my father. Those fighting the truth will be very disappointed!!! I will organise and make our country great as Almighty God always intended it to be,” he posted in March, 2023.

Big following

He claimed that he would set up his own TV and radio channels devoted to the “MK Movement” to promote his political ambitions.   

Mohoonzi once posted that the National Resistance Movement, which is led by his father, “is probably the most reactionary organisation in the country and certainly does NOT represent the people of Uganda.”

Early last month, he declared that he was quitting the X platform to focus on his military duties. The decision came after he was heavily condemned for saying he would behead Bobi Wine.

“Time has now come to leave and concentrate on my military duties but I will re-converge with my one million followers in the future. To all my dear followers, it has been a great whirlwind and rousing journey together on these streets for the last 10 years since 2014,” he wrote.

But barely a week later, General Muhoozi reactivated the account, exclaiming “I’m back!” on his verified account @mkainerugaba. It was reported that he came back with a series of controversial posts threatening to shake up the world. 

His popularity may be debatable, but he is certainly controversial and is heavily followed on his X handle by many Ugandans and Kenyans.