General Muhoozi defends his use of social media

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Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has defended his use of social media, following accusations that he is being unprofessional.

On Friday (October 4), Muhoozi — a four-star general and senior presidential advisor on special operations (SPA/SO) — poured cold water on the opinion that he is being unprofessional.

“I don’t agree with this point of view," he responded on social media platform X, on which he has over 960,000 followers.

"I never posted anything for the first 20 years of my life in the military. I started posting regularly only seven years ago after I was appointed SPA/SO."

The CDF said his X posts on socio-political and economic issues are part of his role as SPA/SO.

“In that [SPA/SO] position, if I’m not commenting on socio-political and economic issues, I’m not doing my job. So as SPA/SO, it’s absolutely professional for me to post all the time."

The First Son also said the day President Yoweri Museveni, who is the appointing authority, takes that position from him, his critics will never see him on X again.

'Deliberate choice'

The state minister for children and youth affairs, Balaam Barugahara, is one of Muhoozi's followers on X. He backed him, saying that X gives him the opportunity to engage directly with the public.

“Gen Kainerugaba, I agree with you. As SPA/SO, social media posting is necessary as part of your duties, ensuring transparency and accountability. Secondly, we are in a digital era, hence [the] shift in communication strategy," said the minister, responding to Muhoozi's post.

“Your online presence as SPA/SO is a deliberate choice to leverage social media for public engagement. In today’s digital age, leaders must adapt and use social media effectively to communicate with the public,” added Barugahara.

Muhoozi’s Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) supporters have been arguing that those making the legal argument that a serving army officer should not comment on political issues are out of touch with the political reality.

His posts and PLU activities have been mainly targeting the youth to rally them for pan-Africanism and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ideology while warning on corruption and wasteful use of government resources.