Prime
Muhoozi explains what his 48th birthday signals
Rwanda President Paul Kagame greets the commander of Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, shortly after being received by President Museveni (right) at State House, Entebbe yesterday. Behind Mr Museveni is the First Lady Janet Museveni and Security minister Jim Muhwezi (second left).
PHOTO | PPU
What you need to know:
- The First Son thanks God for helping the country overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and celebrates the re-opening of the Rwanda-Uganda border.
The Commander of the Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has said his birthday celebrations dubbed, MK 48, signify a strong and vibrant youth movement in Uganda, whose programmes must be prioritised.
“What this whole MK 48 movement is probably teaching Ugandans is that there is a very strong and vibrant youth movement in this country. I think it is the strongest force in Uganda right now,” Gen Muhoozi said amid cheers from hundreds that turned up to celebrate his 48th birthday, some of whom referred to him as “our next President”.
Clad in his military attire, the First Son said it was high time government and leaders addressed the interests of the youth, majority of whom are unemployed.
Gen Muhoozi said investing in sectors such as sports, music and art would keep the youth busy and deter them from misusing their energy.
“All they need is serious attention. What I know about the youth is that since I’m very close to them, they like sports and entertainment. Let us rehabilitate and expand on sports facilities like football stadiums and give the youth what they want because they have too much energy and it becomes a problem when you leave them idle,” he said.
He commended Ugandans for the overwhelming birthday wishes.
“Thank you for your incredible support. I have been seeing your posts from universities, villages and towns. I don’t take them for granted. You have made your voices heard,” Gen Muhoozi said.
The 48-year-old said much as he enjoys private life, he decided to share his celebrations with the public to thank God for helping the country overcome the deadly Covid-19 pandemic and the re-opening of the Rwanda-Uganda border that had been closed for three years .
“As a country, we were experiencing bad relations with our brotherly neighbours, Rwanda. People were suffering because they were not doing business and they could not visit families and friends across the border. This was a big problem,” he said.
He commended Ugandans for recognising his contributions towards the stability and development of the country.
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The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, who was the guest of honour, commended Gen Muhoozi for promoting peace and security in the country.
The State Minister for Sports, Mr Denis Obua, who spoke on behalf of Muhoozi’s friends, described the celebrations as a sign of God’s blessings, favour, hardwork and steady progress.
Renowned city pastor, Aloysius Bugingo, led the prayers, and asked God to guide Gen Muhoozi’s paths.
The celebrations were spiced by entertainment from comedians and artistes; including Bebe Cool and Butcherman and his team.
It was free entry to the venue and there was no particular dress code as some guests were clad in Yellow, Red and White T-shirts encrypted with the photo of the birthday boy and inscribed, “MK Project, secure your Tomorrow.”
Some people said using red was a tactical punch against the National Unity Platform Party.
Guests included ministers, Members of Parliament, government officials, senior cadres of the UPDF and members of the general public.
