First Son and Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. PHOTO/FILE
On Friday, Ugandans on X (formerly Twitter) woke up to the news of the departure of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces, from the platform.
Gen Muhoozi, who has been popular on the platform for taking controversial positions on public discourse, had gained more than a million followers in 10 years. But on Friday he bid them kwaheri – goodbye.
“Under the instructions and blessings of my Lord Jesus Christ… the time has now come to leave and concentrate on His army, the UPDF,” he posted before deactivating the account.
In a message he ended with kwaheri, the general appreciated his followers for their support over the years, promising to “re-converge” in the future after fulfilling his “assignment to restore everlasting peace and security” in the region.
When one deactivates an account, it is temporarily hidden from public view for 30 days. If one does not log in during this period, the account and data are permanently deleted.
His departure from X could be a calculated move to keep him out of the public domain as the country prepares for the general election in January 2026, in which his father is expected to run for his seventh term of office as per the 1995 Constitution.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has not officially announced his intentions to run, has been galvanising his support base through village and national mobilisers and financial schemes such as the Parish Development Model.
He has camped in different regions ostensibly to educate the masses, but political observers say it is his old trick of starting campaigns ahead of schedule and other contenders.
Gen Muhoozi, who had indicated his intention to contest in the 2026 polls, and had mobilised supporters across the country, made a U-turn last year, urging his people to support his father.
But, as the political temperature rises and the masses call for electoral reforms and a regime change after Museveni’s 40 years at the helm, analysts observe that it could be Museveni’s attempt at cleaning his name against accusations of grooming his son to succeed him.
Keeping him out of public and avoiding controversial statements will be important. In the same vein, Museveni has used the army in all the previous elections to intimidate, mobilise support, or curtail opposition politicians’ activities. Therefore, Gen Muhoozi at the helm of the army leadership will have much more work to do to ensure his father’s victory.
Yet this is not the first time Muhoozi has left X.
In April 2022, the general, who had 500,000 followers then, left the platform, but returned five days later, saying, “Never fear my followers and supporters. I'm back. I had some decisions to make."
He has never explained what those decisions were.
His return caused much more controversy, as he kept posting and commenting on international affairs and internal politics, comments widely viewed as undiplomatic and reckless, especially given his position in the army.
At his 48th birthday party, President Paul Kagame, whom he kept referring to as “my uncle,” cleverly hinted at the discomfort the general’s tweets were causing by offering to edit them.
“Gen Muhoozi, I want to offer a service to you. I want to start editing your Twitter account,” President Kagame said.
In October 2022, the general said he would overrun neighbouring Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, causing a diplomatic spat that forced President Museveni to apologise to Kenya.
After the apology, the President said his son would leave Twitter.
“He will leave Twitter. We have this discussion. Talking about other countries and partisan politics is something he should not do and he will not do it,” Museveni said in an interview with Kenyan TV station KTN.
Despite the President’s pledge and the general feeling of Ugandans, Gen Muhoozi kept posting statements that caused discomfort across the region.
For example, he posted about Uganda’s support for Egypt in its war with Ethiopia over the Nile waters, he tweeted his support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine despite Uganda’s “nonaligned” position on the matter.
He recently posted about invading Sudan, prompting the ruling regime to demand action against him. He also threatened to invade neighbouring DR Congo.
At home, he has posted statements against a senior army officer and threatened to crush opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, tweets that were seen as threats to life, which is criminal and against the law.
Although some Ugandans responded with a sigh of relief when he left, his followers demanded that he return.
Balam Barugaharra, the Youth and Children Affairs minister and one of his ardent followers and political mobilisers, said the general would be missed.
“It is with great reverence that we acknowledge the divine calling of our supreme Leader Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Lord Jesus Christ has summoned and guided him to redirect his focus towards strengthening our nation's defence forces, building a robust Uganda Army. We offer our prayers, humbly requesting that the Almighty grant him a future opportunity to return to social media one day, guiding and inspiring us once more. We shall miss you, Master MK,” he said.
