The Ugandan president appoints his son as commander of the armed forces

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has appointed one of his sons, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as commander of the country's armed forces, in a cabinet reshuffle announced by the president on Thursday evening. Kayinrugaba will replace Mbasi Mbadi, who moves to the Ministry of Trade. He has so far served as a senior presidential advisor to his father in charge of special operations, and has been actively involved in diplomatic efforts, especially in managing Uganda's relations with Rwanda. His promotion to the position of Commander of the Defense Forces revived speculation about his possible succession to the presidency, given his family ties to the president. In fact, two of his loyalists were appointed ministers, MP Liliane Appair, Minister of Emergencies, Disasters and Refugees, and Balaam Barugara, Minister of Youth and Children. The latter took to social media to celebrate his appointment, which he described as a vote of confidence in the MK Movement, a political group led by Kinyrugaba that was relaunched last month as a civic organization under the name Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU). . “I express my gratitude to my role model and the next President of Uganda, General Kainerugaba, for selecting, training, mentoring, appointing and trusting me to be his deputy in the Western (region),” he said. Museveni's son caused diplomatic problems for his country through his posts on social media. In 2022, he threatened to invade Kenya, after which the president apologized to the authorities of his neighboring country. In addition, he announced last year that he intended to run for president in the 2026 elections, although he later deleted the post.