Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s President has has appointed his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as head of the military, according to the defence ministry on Friday.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, aged 48, a general in the military, has been widely viewed as his father’s successor in waiting and had once stirred controversy by threatening to occupy neighbouring Kenya.
The defence ministry had in a statement announced that he would be replacing Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, who was removed and appointed as a junior minister.
In 2022, Museveni dismissed his son as commander of Uganda’s land forces after he made threats to invade neighbouring Kenya in on X (then Twitter).
In the controversial posts, Kainerugaba had expressed support for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin saying: “The majority of mankind (that are non-white) support Russia’s stand in Ukraine.”
Kainerugaba has long been viewed as being ready to take over the presidency from his father, 79, who has governed the east African country for almost 40 years.
Although Ugandan laws prohibit serving military officers from involving themselves in politics, Kainerugaba frequently trades insults with opposition politicians and has also formed a pressure group that is in charge of rallying political support for him, drawing condemnation from his critics and the opposition.
Uganda’s presidential election will hold in early 2026 and Museveni is widely presumed to seek a re-election.
