The Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, just turned 52 this month. A few days ago, the Media Centre, the Uganda Police Force and the UPDF spoke about his birthday run and called upon Ugandans to participate.
The theme for the event, which is slated for April 26, is “Run for Charity, Run for Hope” and the chief runner is Gen Kainerugaba. Runners buy kits for shs 20,000 each, and the proceeds will support orphans, according to the organisers of the event.
Many Ugandans who are watching the political landscape closely strongly believe that Gen Kainerugaba is laying the groundwork to launch a political career. In other words, he wants to lead Uganda once his ageing father, President Museveni, steps down or is forced by nature to end his 40-year rule.
Now let me be clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Gen Kainerugaba having a presidential ambition. Like all qualified Ugandans, he has the constitutional right to run for president.
But the birthday run seems like a smokescreen that is deflecting attention from real problems he needs to tackle urgently. The first is the gross violations of the rights of supporters of the opposition.
Many supporters of the National Unity Platform are languishing in prison, detained on trumped-up charges and arguably on his orders, if his social media posts are anything to go by.
Some of the opposition supporters have been detained since 2021. The law says they are innocent until proven guilty, but they have not been committed to any court for trial. How can the state fail to try people it arrests on the grounds that they have committed serious crimes?
In a country that is managed well politically, we should not even be talking about the army chief freeing political prisoners. He, after all, is not supposed to be involved in politics.
But Gen Kainerugaba has made no disguise of the fact that he literally runs Uganda, as his father tries to manage age-related failings.
While many Ugandans have complained that a serving military officer is not supposed to take an active role in politics, their complaints have largely fallen on deaf ears. He has completely ignored them and sometimes writes shockingly insulting social media posts directed at critics.
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Just weeks ago, he called Winnie Byanyima, the wife of incarcerated opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, an “old woman”.
“I advise these OLD women to COMPLETELY SHUT UP!” he wrote. “Winnie or [Miria] Matembe do not help Besigye at all when they talk like the stupid chicken they are!! They should completely SHUT UP!! We shall sort this out as Generals and Men!”
The two women, who once worked closely with Mr Museveni and fell out with him after realising he was pursuing power for its sake, have been outspokenly critical of Gen Kainerugaba over his reckless social media posts and how he brags about torturing political prisoners.
Ms Byanyima avidly shares critical social media posts targeting the general. But that has not stopped him from firing off even more controversial and embarrassing statements.
The political prisoners continue to be illegally detained. And many Ugandans who will take part in the run cannot even say a thing about the detainees.
Some are opportunists hoping to catch Gen Kainerugaba’s eye, believing that once he takes power—which is possible since the opposition is crippled—they will secure a place closer to the dining table.
For someone eyeing the presidency, his priorities, for now at least, do not seem aligned with those of Ugandans who are fed up and have yearned for change in leadership to ensure national problems are fixed.
His mother, Janet Museveni, already runs arguably the oldest non-profit supporting orphans, UWESO. Gen Kainerugaba could instead raise funds for more pressing problems. For example, Mulago, the national referral hospital, remains underfunded and fails to provide treatment matching the standards of private hospitals such as Nakasero.
That may explain why his ailing mother has not been treated there. If he really wants to do better than his father, his priorities need to change quickly.
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🔴 Musaazi Namiti is the Founder and Editorial Director of OJ-UGANDA. He previously led the Africa Desk at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, worked for Globe Media Asia in Cambodia and writes a widely read column for Uganda’s Sunday Monitor. His work has been quoted by The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report—not for playing it safe, but for saying what others will not.