KAMPALA — Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has threatened to arrest officials of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), declaring the organisation “illegal” and accusing its members of corruption.
In a series of posts, Muhoozi warned that arrests of PACEID members would begin immediately, escalating tensions around the presidential advisory body chaired by Odrek Rwabwogo, his brother-in-law.
“PACEID is an illegal organisation. We shall start arresting its members immediately,” wrote Muhoozi.
Muhoozi also appeared to make reference to the removal of speaker Anita Among and the arrest of Parliament, including Chris Obore, in what the government considers a crackdown against corruption.
“You saw what we did with Parliament. Wait for this one…” he bragged.
He further made reference to the arrest and detention of opposition figures Dr Kizza Besigye and Erias Lukwago over treason and misprison of treason charges.
“Where is Lukwago? Where is Besigye? We are going to teach the fools another lesson,” Museveni’s son wrote.
He did not, in the statements cited, provide details of the specific legal grounds on which he considers PACEID illegal, nor did he identify individual members whom he intends to arrest.
The threats nevertheless mark a dramatic escalation in the public dispute surrounding PACEID and Rwabwogo.
He followed it with another statement in Luganda: “Ojakulima osaaga [you’re joking, you will do hard labor].”
What is PACEID?
PACEID — the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development — was commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni on March 16, 2022.
According to its official website, the committee was established as a presidential advisory body to provide strategic and systemic interventions aimed at accelerating Uganda’s export growth and industrial development.
PACEID says it operates under the Office of the President and focuses on four major areas: markets, standards, infrastructure and finance.
Its stated objective is to help address constraints affecting Uganda’s ability to increase exports, including access to international markets, product standards, infrastructure and financing.
The organisation brings together an Executive Committee, Secretariat and sector-based technical working committees involving stakeholders across different supply chains.
Rwabwogo at the centre
Rwabwogo is PACEID’s chairperson and executive committee member. According to the organisation, he chairs Executive Committee meetings, appoints committee chairpersons and members, and serves as PACEID’s primary spokesperson.
He is married to Patience Rwabwogo, President Museveni’s daughter, making him Muhoozi’s brother-in-law.
The latest threat therefore places two members of Uganda’s first family on opposite sides of a rapidly escalating public confrontation.
PACEID has been involved in initiatives aimed at helping Ugandan producers and exporters access international markets, improve quality standards and increase value addition.
The organisation has also conducted programmes targeting farmers and community leaders on production for export and launched platforms intended to provide farmers with information about agricultural markets and international standards.
The statements available do not identify the alleged corruption cases or specify which PACEID officials Muhoozi believes are involved.
PACEID has previously faced public controversy over allegations concerning its role in government programmes.
In May 2025, Rwabwogo rejected claims that PACEID had received Shs37 billion intended for coffee-sector interventions.
“PACEID did not receive a single coin of that money,” Rwabwogo said at the time, arguing that the funds had instead been received by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and disbursed to a company.
Is PACEID illegal?
Muhoozi’s declaration that PACEID is an “illegal organisation” is likely to become the central issue if the threatened arrests proceed.
PACEID’s own official materials describe it as a presidentially commissioned advisory committee established by Museveni and operating under the Office of the President.
The available statements from Muhoozi do not explain what legal instrument he is relying on to declare the organisation illegal.
Nor do they establish, by themselves, that PACEID or its members have committed criminal offences.
That distinction is important because a threat of arrest is not itself proof of criminal wrongdoing.
At the time of publication, the statements cited did not contain details of formal charges against Rwabwogo or other named PACEID officials.
The latest confrontation therefore leaves several unanswered questions: What law does Muhoozi believe PACEID has violated? Which members are being targeted? What specific corruption allegations are under investigation? And which authority, if any, has ordered the proposed arrests?
For Rwabwogo and the officials working under PACEID, the answers could determine whether Muhoozi’s warnings develop into an actual criminal investigation and arrests.
For now, the organisation continues to describe itself as a presidential advisory body, while Uganda’s military chief is publicly declaring it illegal and threatening action against its members.
The clash between those two positions has put PACEID — and its chairman, Museveni’s son-in-law Odrek Rwabwogo — at the centre of a new and potentially explosive confrontation.
Odrek Rwabwogo is rumored to harbor presidential ambitions, and Muhoozi has previously labelled him the biggest thief in Uganda. Odrek has also openly spoken against vote rigging. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
Muhoozi and Odrek Rwabwogo have also clashed over the issue of the Bachwezi. It should also be remembered that at the weekend, Odrek’s wife made history as Uganda’s second female Bishop. (See Details Here and There).
