Why Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba is a darling to Ugandans

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OPINION

By Amlan Tumusiime

The senior Senator and Republican chairperson of the US Senate committee on foreign relations, Jim Risch, has implored President Donald Trump’s administration to impose sanctions against Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Risch issued a statement last Friday responding to Uganda’s recently concluded presidential elections, where Ugandans exercised their constitutional right and overwhelmingly voted for President Museveni, giving him 71.65% of the total votes cast.

Risch said the election exercise was hollow, marred by state-inspired violence and abductions. He also claims that opposition politicians were arrested. In his statement, Risch singled out Gen. Kainerugaba as a potential target for sanctions under the existing US laws.

At first, when I saw this on social media, I thought it was fake news because the 2026 presidential elections were very peaceful, with almost all the districts of Uganda reporting peaceful polls, save for a few like Butambala, where seven people died and Luwero, where the opposition supporters demonstrated by burning tyres on the roads.

During and after the elections, Kampala city remained peaceful, apart from Robert Kyagulanyi, an opposition presidential candidate, who is now in hiding for reasons best known to him and his wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, who made statements about the alleged ‘raid’ on their home by unknown people.

Uganda cannot accept genocide. We have seen the opposition supporters on social media inciting people to poison neighbours they think support the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and even use machetes to cut people. This cannot be accepted in the name of politics.

I wonder why Risch is singling out Gen. Kainerugaba as a target for sanctions, yet it's on record that Uganda has held the most peaceful presidential elections under the CDF.

Even the reports from local and international observers confirmed that, despite other election challenges as expected worldwide in the polls, generally, the 2026 elections were peaceful.

Some elements in the West like interfering in the domestic affairs of other nations, in total disregard of their sovereignty. This is bad, and it violates the autonomy of a country to govern itself independently.

In Uganda, citizens are happy with Gen. Kainerugaba and the Inspector General of Police, Abas Byakagaba, for the effective role they played to ensure that the presidential elections were held in a peaceful environment, and because of that, Ugandans are back to their normal businesses and work.

Could it be that Risch is targeting Gen. Kainerugaba because he is the son of President Museveni? Some elements in the West that are opposed to President Museveni’s administration should know that the way they view him is not the same way Ugandan citizens view him. The citizens know the political history of Uganda well. 

They know how President Museveni inherited a failed state, both politically and economically. Even the youth who had been misled by the opposition, who get funding from some elements in the West to destabilise the peace of the country, have come to know the truth and are now supporting President Museveni. The truth remains; there is no amount of pressure from the West that can confuse the honest Ugandans. Ugandans know their rights and will continue voting for a leader they know will take their country forward.

Even if Gen. Kainerugaba faces sanctions by the US, Ugandans will continue supporting him because of the huge contributions he has made to the peace and stability of the country and its neighbours.

Gen. Kainerugaba’s contribution to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is heavily centred on modernisation of the army, the development of specified units and overseeing regional security operations. Having commanded the Special Forces Command, Gen. Kainerugaba is credited with transforming the unit into the best-equipped and most professional branch of the UPDF.

Because of his leadership, he initiated and fostered a self-help culture in the unit, which has now led to significant infrastructure development, including the construction of training schools, accommodation and administration blocks.

For the period 2007-2021, Gen. Kainerugaba commanded the defeat of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in Bundibugyo and other western districts, and today, that region is peaceful. He also played a key role in Operation Shujaa in 2021, a joint operation with DR Congo against the ADF rebels.

In 2008, Gen. Kainerugaba was second-in-command of Operation Lightning Thunder against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Garamba, DR Congo. In 2011, he was involved in operations against al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, Somalia.

As a commander of Land Forces in 2021-2022, Gen. Kainerugaba led the infantry branch of the UPDF, focusing on strengthening the army’s operational capacity. He has been involved in efforts to modernise the UPDF capabilities, logistics and administration. In 2009, he played a key role in the training and commissioning of the UPDF’s first paratrooper element since 1976.

As a senior presidential advisor on special operations, Gen. Kainerugaba has focused much on increasing defence co-operation, including strengthening ties with regional partners and the UN. He hates corruption and cares more about the welfare of the soldiers.

In 2022, Gen. Kainerugaba demonstrated his leadership traits when he broke the deadlock between Kampala and Kigali that had caused Kigali to close the Gatuna/Katuna border for three years. Formal diplomatic channels had failed to resolve this impasse. He played a pivotal role, and the issue was amicably solved, and the border was reopened.

Gen. Kainerugaba is credited with rebuilding trust between President Museveni and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. This makes Kainerugaba a unifier and an able leader. His direct involvement in uniting leaders at his age makes him a special person who can lead Uganda. No doubt, one day Gen. Kainerugaba will be the president of Uganda and will be supported by Ugandans.

He is among the youngest but highly trained military officers globally. He has undergone extensive training at international institutions like Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (UK), the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the Egyptian Military Academy. Kainerugaba is a selfless General who has utilised his huge military training and passed on the skills to other soldiers, a reason why UPDF is ranked among the best-trained and professional armies globally.

I laugh at the opposition politicians who keep undermining Gen. Kainerugaba’s ability to lead the army, yet he is highly trained. They speak out of jealousy and ignorance.

It is a shame for US Senator Risch to target Gen. Kainerugaba to face US sanctions basing on rumours and propaganda by the opposition in Uganda and a lack of professionalism by some media houses in the West. Facts are known on the ground. No commission of inquiry has ever been put in place to investigate Gen. Kainerugaba and find him guilty of any accusations of either corruption, human rights abuses or abductions, which are key factors for anyone to face sanctions.

Any allegations against the CDF by the opposition and their Western allies should not be taken seriously because they are just built on grey propaganda aimed at tarnishing his good name. No one should fall victim to such propaganda.

Uganda treasures peace, and Gen. Kainerugaba, as a CDF, has to ensure that Uganda’s sovereignty is protected, the Constitution is protected, and internal security is also protected.

I believe the Trump administration will not find it worthy to impose sanctions on Kainerugaba because he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

The writer is the NRM mobiliser for the Bunyoro sub-region