KAMPALA — The increasingly public feud between Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his brother-in-law Odrek Rwabwogo has entered a new and potentially more serious phase following reports that a senior official attached to Rwabwogo’s organisation has been arrested, The Pearl Times reports.
Matthew Bagonza, who heads the secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) and has worked for years as Rwabwogo’s personal assistant, was reportedly taken from his residence in Entebbe.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged arrest remained uncertain by publication time. The identity of the security agency involved, the specific allegations against Bagonza and his reported place of detention had not been officially disclosed.
Police and military authorities had also not issued a public statement confirming that Bagonza was in custody.
The reported arrest came shortly after Muhoozi publicly announced that PACEID was no longer recognised by him as a legitimate organisation and threatened a security operation against officials he accused of corruption.
“PACEID is an illegal organisation. We shall start arresting its members immediately,” Muhoozi said in a post on X.
“We are going to arrest ALL the members of PACEID involved in corruption,” he added.
The army chief later indicated that the first arrest had already taken place, although he stopped short of identifying the individual.
“We have already arrested one of the criminals. Muraregye [good night],” he wrote.
Muhoozi later appeared to reinforce the warning with a further declaration:
“We have started arresting the criminals in PACEID. Mzee, has told me to get all of them!”
There was no immediate independent confirmation that Bagonza was the person referred to in Muhoozi’s posts.
If confirmed, however, his detention would represent the first publicly reported arrest of a senior PACEID official following Muhoozi’s threats and would mark a sharp escalation in the confrontation surrounding the organisation.
Bagonza is not a peripheral figure within PACEID. As head of its secretariat, he has been involved in the day-to-day implementation of programmes designed to expand Uganda’s access to foreign markets and promote locally manufactured products.
His responsibilities have included work connected to international buyer engagements, export-market development and Uganda Connect trade hubs, alongside initiatives aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Ugandan goods.
Bagonza is also named among PACEID’s executive committee members, whose leadership includes Rwabwogo, vice chairman Moses Sabiiti and secretary Rev Dr Florence Muranga.
PACEID was commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni in March 2022 as part of efforts to expand Uganda’s export base, identify overseas markets, improve export standards and contribute to industrial development.
The committee operates under Rwabwogo, who is Museveni’s son-in-law and Muhoozi’s brother-in-law.
The family relationship makes the latest confrontation particularly striking, as Muhoozi has now publicly threatened an organisation led by a close member of his own extended family.
The dispute has also spilled into the media space, with Muhoozi warning broadcasters against providing platforms to PACEID officials.
“Radios and TVs that allow members of the outlawed PACEID to talk will face severe consequences,” he said.
Meanwhile, exiled Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija claimed that Bagonza had been seized by operatives of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and was being held in a basement.
“Mr. Mathew Bagonza, the loyal personal assistant to Rwabwogo, was snatched from his Entebbe home by CMI operatives with the casual efficiency usually reserved for chicken thieves and is now cooling his heels in the basement. I last saw him shortly before I fled to exile, when he arrived in the company of his boss Rwabwogo (… Museveni’s son-in-law…). They came bearing offers. I declined them all.
I have always warned him, more than once that the distended belly of his would one day serve as a bouncing castle for … Muhoozi down in the basement. He didn’t listen. I hope Duncan Abigaba is safe.” Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, exiled Ugandan novelist.
Kakwenza’s account could not independently be verified, and there was no official confirmation that Bagonza was being held by CMI or that he was in a basement.
Rwabwogo and PACEID had not publicly commented on the reported detention by the time of publication. It was similarly unclear whether Bagonza had been allowed to contact relatives or obtain legal representation.
The reported development now leaves unanswered questions about the nature of the allegations against PACEID officials and whether Bagonza’s reported detention will be followed by further arrests, as Muhoozi has repeatedly indicated.
Uganda’s Constitution provides protections for arrested persons, including the right to be informed of the reason for their arrest, access legal representation and be brought before a court within 48 hours, subject to the applicable law.
For PACEID, the reported detention comes at a critical moment. What began as public accusations against the organisation has rapidly evolved into threats of arrests, warnings to broadcasters and, according to unverified reports, the detention of one of its senior officials.
Meanwhile, Muhoozi’s attacks against Rwabwogo happen days after his wife Patience was ordained bishop. Muhoozi has previously expressed support in belief in Bachwezi, which Odrek has criticized. (See Details Here and There).
