Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has directed government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as local governments, to suspend all dealings with the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), an organisation associated with Odrek Rwabwogo.
In a terse directive, Muhoozi described PACEID as a “criminal organisation” and warned government officials against continuing to engage with it.
“All MDAs and local governments are directed to suspend all dealings with the criminal organisation, PACEID. Failure to do so will be handled accordingly,” Muhoozi said.
The directive places government institutions on notice over any continued cooperation, communication or transactions with PACEID and signals a potentially significant escalation in the growing tensions surrounding the organisation.
PACEID has been involved in initiatives aimed at promoting Uganda’s exports, industrial development and investment, with Rwabwogo, who is President Yoweri Museveni’s son-in-law, playing a prominent role in the organisation.
Muhoozi’s latest directive does not, in the statement, provide details of the specific conduct that led him to describe PACEID as a “criminal organisation,” nor does it identify the government dealings that are to be suspended.
The order nonetheless carries considerable weight because it directly targets an organisation headed by a senior figure within the President’s family and comes amid increasing public attention on the activities and operations of PACEID.
The directive also raises questions about the extent to which MDAs and local governments are expected to disengage from PACEID and whether further administrative or legal action against the organisation or its officials could follow.
For now, Muhoozi has made his position explicit: government institutions have been ordered to stop dealing with PACEID, with officials warned that failure to comply will “be handled accordingly.”
You can read our earlier story on Muhoozi declaring PACEID an illegal organization and threatening to arrest Odrek Rwabwogo and his colleagues Here.
Meanwhile, Odrek Rwabwogo is said to harbor presidential ambitions — even as Muhoozi positions himself as the successor to Museveni’s throne. (See Details Here and There).
