Ugandan president apologizes to Kenya for his son's controversial tweets

Nairobi, 5 October (EFE). Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni apologized to Kenya on Wednesday for some controversial tweets by his son, General Muhuzi Kinirugaba, in which he criticized former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for not opting for a third term. — prohibited by the constitution — and presumably capable of taking Nairobi militarily.

“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for the tweets sent by General Muhuzi, the former commander of the Ugandan ground forces on electoral issues in that great country,” Museveni said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Kenya’s new president, William Ruto, succeeded Kenyatta on September 13, after winning the controversial election on August 9.

Thus, Kenyatta left power after serving his second consecutive term, the maximum allowed by the constitution.

In fact, Museveni traveled to Nairobi for Roto’s inauguration, congratulated him with smiles and handshakes, and even gave a speech during the ceremony.

“It is not true that government officials, whether civilian or military, suspend or interfere in any way in the internal affairs of brotherly countries,” the Ugandan president added.

My only problem with my older brother (Kenyata) is that he did not run for a third term. (…) the Constitution? rule of law? You must be kidding! For us there is only revolution and soon it will do. meet her! On Monday, Kainerugaba wrote on his Twitter account.

A few minutes later, Kinerogaba added, “It will not take my army and I two weeks to capture Nairobi.”

His comments prompted Kenya’s new foreign minister, Alfred Mutua, to meet with Ugandan Ambassador Hassan Galliwango in Nairobi the next day to discuss “interesting issues”.

After posting these controversial tweets, Museveni decided on Tuesday to dismiss his son as the former commander of the Ugandan ground forces, a position he held until then.

But the Ugandan president also promoted Kainerugaba from first lieutenant to general, the highest rank in the Ugandan army.

Since the 2021 election period, Kainerugaba has emerged on Twitter for his controversial posts, which has resulted in him having more than half a million followers on that social network.

Often described as a young Ugandan ready to lead his future country, Kinirogaba, 48, has been ruled by his 78-year-old father since 1986.

This has led many analysts to suspect Kinerugaba of a plan to succeed his father in power, as Uganda’s Daily Monitor and Red Paper announced in 2013.

According to those media outlets, his journalists read a letter outlining how Museveni was grooming his son to become the next head of state.

The Ugandan government denied this point and ordered the closure of the two newspapers for more than a week.