Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, now says nobody can lock him out of social media days after making controversial comments on Kenya’s sovereignty.
The army general came under fire early this month after his cryptic war tweet about ‘capturing Nairobi in a fortnight’ went viral on Twitter sparking a storm.
But in a tweet on Wednesday, October 19, Muhoozi dismissed thoughts of banning him from Twitter as ‘jokes’.
He insisted that he is an adult who can not be ‘banned from anything’.
“I hear some journalist from Kenya asked my father to ban me from Twitter? Is that some kind of joke?? I am an adult and NO ONE will ban me from anything!” he said in a tweet.
I hear some journalist from Kenya asked my father to ban me from Twitter? Is that some kind of joke?? I am an adult and NO ONE will ban me from anything!
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 18, 2022
The military man was referring to an interview his father had with KTN News’ Sophia Wanuna on Sunday, where the long-serving Ugandan Head of State was asked about his son’s conduct on social media.
During the interview, Museveni downplayed the son’s outburst on Twitter saying “Africa has a lot of problems and tweeting is not the most serious.”
“Muhoozi is a very good officer in army things. Army has got all sorts of problems …corruption, many of the armies are killed by corruption. Stealing resources of the army, poor training, and so on,” he said while praising his son.
A day later, Museveni told a Ugandan TV station that Muhoozi would stay off Twitter when it comes to affairs of state.
“He will leave Twitter. We have this discussion. Twitter is not a problem. The problem is what you are tweeting about,” Museveni said.
“Talking about other countries and partisan politics of Uganda is something he should not do and he will not do it,” he added.
Museveni apologises
Museveni had earlier apologised to Kenya over his son’s flurry of tweets that nearly ignited a diplomatic tiff between Kenya and Uganda.
Museveni said it is imprudent for public officers, either serving in the military or civil service, to make adverse comments or appear to interfere with the internal affairs of neighbouring countries.
“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country. It is not correct for Public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries,” his statement read in part.
Museveni noted that criticism or opinions on the political ongoings in a brother nation can be formally voiced at the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among presidents at EAC and AU fora.
“The only available legitimate forum is the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among us or EAC and AU fora –not public comments,” he added.
President Museveni further clarified why he promoted General Muhoozi to a higher military rank amidst the controversy.
He stated that even though the first son committed a mistake, his positive contribution to the military outweighs the wrong.
