Ugandan first son and senior presidential advisor on special operations Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has revealed some of the circumstances that led to his firing a few weeks ago.
Museveni sacked his son from his position as the Commander of the Land Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), national army, following his controversial tweets that nearly caused a diplomatic storm between Uganda and Kenya.
Museveni’s son had tweeted that he and his army had the capacity to capture Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, within just two weeks. In another tweet, Muhoozi suggested that Kenya was a district of Uganda. He even asked Kenyans to tell him where he and his wife should reside after the capture of Nairobi.
Following the twitterati, Museveni elevated his son to the rank of General, the highest in the UPDF. While many had welcomed Muhoozi’s sacking, they complained about his promotion, wondering how a man who had just commited such a grave mistake with potential to send two neighboring countries to war could be rewarded with a promotion.
But Gen Museveni wrote an apology to Kenyans and their President Dr William Ruto. The president also explained why he promoted his 48-year-old son to the rank of general, despite his mistakes. Days later, Muhoozi also apologized to President Ruto. (Read Stories Here, There and Over There).
But Muhoozi has now revealed that his sacking was spearheaded by some people. It should be remembered that following Gen Muhoozi’s Twitter storm, his father summoned him and told him that he was going to make new changes in the administration of the UPDF. A few hours later, the president fired his son but promoted him.
Gen Muhoozi has now revealed that although some people made his father fire him, he still loved former Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. Muhoozi did not say if it was Kenyatta or his successor Dr Ruto who compelled his father to drop him but it is likely that Nairobi could have piled pressure on Kampala to punish the carelessly tweeting first son.
It is also possible that some members of the powerful Museveni government could have convinced the president that firing Gen Muhoozi’s was in the country’s best interest, perhaps labelling him a threat to regional diplomacy and security. Gen Muhoozi insisted that God will fight for him.
“Some people convinced my father to sack me from my former job. I still love my big brother, Uhuru Kenyatta, and I am more than confident that Almighty God is on my side!” wrote Gen Muhoozi.
Meanwhile, Gen Muhoozi has reportedly disobeyed his father, refusing to stop tweeting about controversial security and political issues. In a recent interview, Museveni said he would never allow his son Muhoozi to tweet ‘fwaaa’. But Muhoozi fired back at his father Museveni, saying nobody would ban him from Twitter because he was an adult. Gen Muhoozi and his father Museveni have also reportedly disagreed on a succession plan. (See Details Here and There).
