 (6).png)
5 hours ago
1
ARTICLE AD BOX
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces (UPDF), apologised to the US over a X post in which he had accused the US of helping missing opposition leader Bobi Wine.
From cutting ties to "great friends" within hours — Uganda's defence chief broke ties with the United States on Friday. But, just hours later, his tone shifted to call the US a "great friend" of Uganda.
He thanked "super diplomat" Adonia Ayebare "for quickly resolving any issues we might have had with our good friends the United States of America.
What exactly happened?
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (UPDF) and SPA/SO, apologised to the US over a previous X post in which he had accused the US of helping missing opposition leader Bobi Wine.
He broke ties with the US, but then reversed his stance an hour later.
"I want to apologise to our great friends the United States for my earlier tweets that I have now deleted," army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the son of the president, wrote on X.
"I was being fed with wrong information. I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country and everything is okay," he added.
Adonia Ayebare, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uganda to the United Nations, reacted to Kainerugaba's post saying, "Thank you General for this clarification. Our relationship with the United States of America is mutually beneficial and resilient."
The 'deleted' post
According to the AFP, Muhoozi Kainerugaba had previously posted on X that he was cutting ties with the US embassy, accusing it of helping to hide Wine, who has been on the run since elections this month.
Kainerugaba had earlier posted: “Because of the present situation where an opposition leader kidnapped himself and is missing; and according to our best intelligence did all this in co-ordination with the current administration at the US Embassy in our country (...) we as UPDF suspend ALL cooperation with the current administration at the US Embassy in Kampala.”
Kainerugaba added that this would include its work in Somalia, where Uganda provides the main contingent of forces to the international coalition against Islamist insurgents.
The post was later deleted.
Who is Muhoozi Kainerugaba?
Kainerugaba, who leads the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), is the son of President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has ruled the country for 40 years and this month won a seventh term.
Kainerugaba, who many see as likely to succeed his father as president, is known for prolific and provocative posts on X.
Last week, Kainerugaba threatened to hunt down and kill Wine, and boasted that his forces had killed 30 of his supporters, and arrested 2,000 more since the election.
(With inputs from AFP)
English (US) ·