BIG MISTAKE! Kahinda Otafiire’s Son Warns as Muhoozi Vows to Arrest His Father Tomorrow

A son of veteran politician Kahinda Otafiire has issued a brief but emphatic warning amid a growing public confrontation involving his father and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Che Otafiire’s reaction, delivered in Russian, has added a family dimension to a dispute that has escalated from parliamentary remarks and social media exchanges into threats of arrest against the Minister of Water and Environment.

The confrontation follows remarks Otafiire made in Parliament on Thursday, October 1, when he cautioned that the country has a problem if a military general prefers violence.

Otafiire, a historical figure in Uganda’s 1980s bush war and Ruhinda County MP, did not explicitly mention Muhoozi. However, the CDF appeared to interpret the remarks as a personal attack and responded with a series of statements directed at the minister.

Muhoozi initially gave Otafiire three days before escalating his threat and declaring that the arrest would take place the following day.

The latest dispute comes against the backdrop of previous public confrontations between Muhoozi and other senior government officials, including State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere and Minister for the Presidency Milly Babirye Babalanda, both of whom faced threats from the army chief before reconciling with him.

In September, Muhoozi issued Nameere a seven-day ultimatum to apologise over a video that appeared to show her warning him against fighting legislators belonging to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

The video had been circulated in a shortened form, creating the impression that Nameere was directly addressing Muhoozi. A longer version showed that she was speaking to Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Secretary General Daudi Kabanda.

Muhoozi threatened political consequences, including the possibility of removing Nameere from Cabinet and campaigning against her in Masaka.

Nameere subsequently issued a public apology, maintaining that the video had been maliciously edited and that she had never intended to attack the army chief.

“My sincere apology to Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba regarding a video that unscrupulous people maliciously edited and put your name! I can NEVER attack you my Brother! Heshima,” she wrote.

Muhoozi accepted the apology, declared the dispute settled and instructed PLU members to stop attacking the minister. Nameere later visited the PLU offices and signed an endorsement book supporting his anticipated 2031 presidential bid.

Babalanda also faced a public warning from Muhoozi after she declared that President Yoweri Museveni would remain Uganda’s presidential candidate in 2031 and beyond.

Muhoozi, who has openly expressed his own presidential ambitions for 2031, demanded an apology from the minister, accusing her of spreading falsehoods and warning that she risked losing her Cabinet position or facing arrest.

“I want an apology from Minister Babalanda for spreading falsehoods. Otherwise, she will lose her job!” Muhoozi wrote.

He later escalated the warning, saying: “Actually she is in danger of arrest! Let me agree with Mzee.”

Babalanda responded with a conciliatory message directed at the army chief, declaring, “Tuko Pamoja,” a Kiswahili expression meaning “We are together.”

Muhoozi welcomed the message and invited her to the PLU headquarters to sign the endorsement book supporting his anticipated presidential candidature. The exchange effectively ended the public disagreement, with the two officials signalling that they had made peace.

The earlier confrontations provide a backdrop to the latest dispute involving Otafiire, although it remains unclear whether the minister will respond in a similar manner or whether the confrontation will take a different course.

The dispute took another turn when Kasambya County MP David Kabanda, a staunch supporter of Muhoozi, proposed that Otafiire be taken to a zoo.

“We shall take him to the zoo and he stays with his relatives,” Kabanda wrote.

The proposal prompted Che Otafiire to respond in Russian with the words “Большая ошибка !”, which translate to “BIG MISTAKE!”

His warning came after Muhoozi declared that the three-day deadline was too long and that the minister would be arrested on Saturday, October 3.

“3 days is too long. We are arresting Otafiire tomorrow without fail,” Muhoozi wrote.

The threat has raised the stakes in the confrontation between the CDF and the veteran politician, although no details have been provided about the legal basis or circumstances of the threatened arrest.