Muhoozi Kainerugaba: A Reckless General Leading Uganda's Army and Threatening to Occupy Sudan

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and commander of the People’s Defense Forces, recently posted a tweet that triggered a diplomatic dispute between Uganda and Sudan, raising tensions between the two nations. 

On December 17, 2024, Muhoozi threatened to invade Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, with support from then-U.S. President Donald Trump upon his return to power.

“We’re just waiting for our colleague Donald Trump to become president, and with his support, we will take Khartoum [..] This chaos will end soon,” Muhoozi wrote.

“If these young men in Khartoum don’t know what war is, they will soon learn.”

Although Muhoozi deleted the tweet just hours later, the Sudanese government demanded an official apology from Uganda, condemning what they called the “reckless and irresponsible comments” made by Muhoozi, the head of Uganda’s People’s Defense Forces.

At 50, Muhoozi is considered the most likely candidate to succeed his father as president of Uganda, with many eyeing him as the country’s future leader. However, the general is known for his controversial statements and his frequent disregard for diplomatic norms.

Military Background

Muhoozi Kainerugaba was born on April 24, 1974, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He lost his mother at birth and was raised by Janet Museveni, who later became his father’s wife and served as Uganda's Minister of Education and Sports starting June 6, 2016.

At the time of Muhoozi’s birth, his father, Museveni, was the leader of the FRONASA rebel group. Along with other exiles in Tanzania, this group planned to overthrow Idi Amin's dictatorship. Museveni later became president of Uganda in 1986 and has maintained power ever since.

Museveni made sure to raise his son in a Christian environment, enrolling him in religious primary schools in Tanzania before sending him to the Mount Kenya Academy in Nyeri. After becoming president, Muhoozi enrolled at Kampala Parents' School and later attended King's College Budo, a Christian boarding high school, graduating in 1994.

Upon graduation, Muhoozi’s military training began. He received education at prestigious institutions, including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. He was also accepted into the Egyptian Military College, where he took courses on company and battalion leadership. He also trained at Kalama Armoured Warfare Training School, central Uganda.

In 2007, Muhoozi enrolled in a year-long course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, graduating in June 2008. He then completed an executive national security program at the South African National Defence College.

Dictator's Son

Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s upbringing was deeply influenced by his father, President Museveni, who is now 80 years old. Muhoozi was a child when his father’s armed groups seized control of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, before Museveni rose to power.

At that time, Museveni was responsible for committing massacres, rapes, and brutal burnings against opposition groups. He was also accused of kidnapping and enslaving approximately 24,000 children, using them as tools in his wars to strengthen his rule.

Museveni ruled Uganda with an iron fist, maintaining single-party control despite the country’s constitutional limit of two presidential terms. In 2005, he abolished a law that capped presidential terms, allowing him to run for a third, fourth, and even fifth term in what were widely regarded as “unfair” elections.

Opposition groups accuse both Museveni and Muhoozi of planning to keep the presidency in the family indefinitely, with Muhoozi expected to inherit the role after his father’s reign.

In January 2018, Museveni introduced a constitutional amendment that removed the age cap for presidential candidates, which previously prevented anyone over 75 from running for president.

On September 22, 2024, Muhoozi announced he would abandon his bid for the 2026 presidential election, urging his supporters to back his father instead. Despite this, many expect Museveni, who has led Uganda for 38 years, to run for re-election, though he has yet to confirm.

In his military career, Muhoozi rose through the ranks of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). He later became commander of the Special Forces Command (SFC), an elite unit responsible for protecting the president and handling sensitive operations.

From 2013 to 2014, Muhoozi was one of the senior commanders in Uganda’s military operations in South Sudan, supporting the South Sudanese government amid the outbreak of fighting between rival factions of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces.

In June 2021, Muhoozi was appointed to lead the UPDF’s infantry branch, following General Peter Elwelu’s promotion to vice president of the army.

Controversial Tweets

Muhoozi is notorious for his impulsive tweets, which have sparked multiple diplomatic crises. One of the most notable was on March 22, 2022, when he threatened to attack neighboring Kenya, a country with which Uganda shares strong ties. “It wouldn't take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted.

This enraged Kenyans, prompting their foreign minister to announce a meeting with the Ugandan ambassador. The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement emphasizing the “harmonious relationship with Kenya” and expressed regret over Muhoozi’s comments.

The diplomatic fallout led to President Museveni removing Muhoozi from his position as commander of the infantry. Despite this, he continued to make controversial and sarcastic tweets, including one in October 2022, where he offered to marry Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in exchange for 100 cows and threatened to invade Italy if she rejected his offer.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba has not hidden his admiration for the head of the Egyptian regime, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In a tweet, he shared a photo with Sisi and wrote, “My recent meeting with my Egyptian uncle, H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, has convinced me that Egypt and Uganda have strong historical and blood relations.”

“I always learn a lot from him. He is a wise man. Longlive our cooperation.”

On December 17, 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine accused Muhoozi of tweeting under the influence of alcohol. Wine wrote, “No wonder you’re drinking yourself silly and tweeting balderdash in the middle of the night. Go on murderer, let the world know who you really are!”

On March 21, 2024, Muhoozi returned to the military under his father’s orders, assuming the Chief of Defence Forces position, the highest military rank in Uganda.

‘MK Project’

Preparations for Muhoozi to succeed his father have been underway for years. In 2013, General David Sejusa, a prominent opposition figure, penned a letter outlining a plan for Muhoozi to inherit the presidency, dubbing it the “MK Project,” named after Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s initials.

Sejusa warned that military officers opposing the plan faced the risk of arrest or assassination. He told the BBC that Uganda is turning into a “political monarchy.”

His statement triggered one of the most aggressive government crackdowns on the media. Police surrounded the local Daily Monitor newspaper for over 10 days, while many in Uganda were surprised by the international community's silence.

Sejusa was arrested and spent more than a year in exile in the United Kingdom before returning, only to be detained again in 2016 on charges of mutiny and rebellion.

The path to power for Muhoozi Kainerugaba is far from straightforward. On September 10, 2024, Africa Intelligence, known for its focus on African affairs, reported that the race to succeed President Museveni has caused a rift between his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and his son-in-law, Odrek Rwabwogo.

The magazine spotlighted their strong grip on government influence, noting that General Muhoozi's flurry of tweets exposed deep rifts within the president’s family, which seems set to inherit power.

These tensions provide a glimpse into the political landscape of Uganda post-Museveni.

Ugandan journalist and political analyst Andrew Mwenda, writing in his locally owned The Independent, said that “as Museveni grows older, “his ability to retain control [..] has significantly diminished.”

Mwenda added that with power now deeply personalized, the battle for influence has reached the statehouse, inevitably sparking family disputes. Muhooz is employing every tool at his disposal to settle the matter early.

Mwenda did not rule out the possibility of Muhoozi resorting to repressive measures, including the arrest of his brother-in-law, Rwabwogo, a figure with vast political and economic ambitions.