KAMPALA— President Yoweri Museveni has extended an apology to Kenyans for war tweets sent out by his son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba Monday went on a Twitter meltdown, warning that he would only need two weeks with his army to capture Nairobi.
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In what has turned into an embarrassing diplomatic tiff for Kampala, Muhoozi, a powerful son of the president, posted a series of controversial tweets about Kenya, Uganda’s neighbour to the East.
He started by blaming retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he refers to as his “big brother”, for not contesting for a third term in the August 2022 polls, adding the retired president could have easily won the election.
Former president Kenyatta was barred by the Kenyan constitution from contesting for a third term.
But Muhoozi, 48, suggests Mr Kenyatta, who handed over power to President William Ruto on September 13, 2022, should have changed the constitution to remain in power.
“Haha! I love my Kenyan relatives. Constitution? Rule of law? You must be joking! For us (Uganda), there is only the Revolution and you will soon learn about it!”
Not done, Muhoozi sensationally claimed on the same platform he needs a fortnight to topple President Ruto’s government.
Moments later, President Museveni announced changes in the command of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) dropping him from the position of Commander of Land Forces in what was seen as a move to tame his son.
Today Museveni said he had sent out an apology to the President of Kenya William Ruto in regret for the unbecoming approach exhibited by his wild son on social media.
“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country. It is not correct for Public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries,” Museveni said in a statement issued this afternoon.
He explained that the only available legitimate forum for such engagements is the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions within the East African community and the African Union.
Dear Ugandans, the brotherly people of Kenya, and all East Africans. I greet all of you.
I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for the tweets sent by General Muhoozi.Below is my full statement https://t.co/2xQjFNge2G pic.twitter.com/CmgnknFpUt
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) October 5, 2022
Museveni explained that the move to promote Muhoozi to a four-star General, the highest rank in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), even after the online chaos, was to appreciate the many other positive contributions he has made despite acting negatively in recent days.
“This is a time-tested formula –discourage the negative and encourage the positive. Very sorry, ndugu zetu Wakenya. Also sorry to the Ugandans who could have been annoyed by one of their officials meddling in the affairs of brother Kenya,” Museveni added.
He describes Gen. Muhoozi as a passionate pan-Africanist but hastens to add that, the correct method for Pan-Africanists is confidential interactions or using the available fora of EAC and AU, especially for public officers. Museveni said that he had conveyed all his views confidentially to Kenya’s President, William Ruto.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement reaffirming that Uganda treasures the existing strong bilateral relations between Uganda and Kenya based on the shared history between the two countries, common values, Mutual respect, trust and the desire to build a unified East African Community.
The Ministry added that the Government of Uganda does not conduct its foreign policy and other official business through Social Media nor depend on social media sources in dealing with other sovereign governments.
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Dear Ugandans, the brotherly People of Kenya and all East Africans. I greet all of you. Again, I hail the peaceful elections that took place in Kenya recently where H.E. William Ruto emerged winner. I, again, congratulate him on that victory.
I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country. It is not correct for Public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries. The only available legitimate forum is the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among us or EAC and AU fora – not public comments.
Why, then, promote him to full General after these comments? This is because this mistake is one aspect where he has acted negatively as a Public officer. There are, however, many other positive contributions the General has made and can still make. This is a time-tested formula – discourage the negative and encourage the positive. Very sorry, ndugu zetu Wakenya. Also sorry to the Ugandans who could have been annoyed by one of their officials meddling in the affairs of brother Kenya. I know for a fact that General Muhoozi is a passionate Pan-Africanist. However, the correct method for Pan-Africanists is confidential interactions or using the available fora (EAC and AU), especially if you are a Public officer.
I have conveyed all those views confidentially to H.E. Ruto, the President of Kenya.
Signed:
YK Museveni (Gen. Rtd.)
The old man with a hat
