Musaazi NAMITI
She does not use Facebook. But she is active on X, which she joined in 2023 and where she has 63k followers.
On June 26, two days after her mother’s 78th birthday, Natasha Karugire, President Museveni’s eldest daughter, posted a video about Jesus.
She prefaced it with the following words: “I know the Storm Master. His name is Jesus. He lives! And He cares about us.”
She then started telling her followers about Christianity’s most revered figure, citing Matthew Chapter 14 verse 25 to 31.
In the video, Ms Karugire says that when she keeps her eyes on Jesus, “no matter what is happening around me, I can walk on the water and I can do what seems impossible.”
Her followers would have none of the “sermon” in her video, and a firestorm of criticism followed immediately.
“Your God will send you to hell. You and your God are disgusting. Your God commands you to kill, abduct and torture people?” asked one follower using the name Master Piper.
Ms Karugire’s post appeared to be addressing her life challenges. On June 24, her father posted on X to say that Satan had “launched an attack” on his wife Janet’s life, confirming publicly for the first time rumours that have circulated for months that she has been seriously ill.
Although Mr Museveni says that Janet, whom he reappointed this past May as Minister of Education and Sports, has recovered, he went ahead to appoint John Chrysostom Muyingo as the acting minister.
Ms Karugire’s post, coming just days after former Kampala mayor and opposition politician Erias Lukwago had been abducted on the orders of her brother and army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, appears to have touched a raw nerve.
The post also came amid reports that former Minister of Ethics and Integrity Miria Matembe, who had criticised Gen Kainerugaba in viral videos, had gone missing, feared abducted after security forces stormed her bedroom in Luzira on the outskirts of Kampala.
Ms Matembe was out when the soldiers arrived, her husband Nehemiah Matembe told local media.
Follower after follower attacked Ms Karugire for ignoring the plight of opposition supporters and government critics who are languishing in prison without trial, some for years, and instead preaching Jesus.
“Please before you start posting videos of your false preaching, we want Hon Matembe released by your family,” wrote Wafula Deo Oscar.
“You pretend to be a preacher of the gospel, yet you are unleashing terror on Ugandans, abducting senior citizens and torturing them in dungeons. Free Hon Matembe!”
Another follower listed seven opposition figures, including Dr Kizza Besigye and Erias Lukwago, both senior members of the People’s Front for Freedom, and Waiswa Mufumbiro of the National Unity Platform, and wrote: “Ms Natasha, those are fellow Ugandans and also children of Jesus.”
A follower identified only as Marion wrote: “This hypocrisy is too much. Why quote the Bible when you people torture, abduct people in the basement? Where is John Bosco Kibalama and John Ddamulira? Let the pain of these little children consume your soul for all the days of life, you heartless woman!”
But other followers, including Barbara Kaija, the outgoing editor-in-chief of Vision Group, a pro-government media company, agreed with Ms Karugire.
“So timely and encouraging. Focusing on Jesus the storm master, we can never drown!” wrote Ms Kaija. “We celebrate our God because He calms the seas. He levels mountains and He fills every valley. Thanks for sharing.”
Hussein Kashillingi simply said: “Amen and hallelujah.”
Ms Karugire did not respond to the comments, and OJ-UGANDA was unable to interview her for this story.
President Museveni’s family is devoutly Christian. His daughter Patience Rwabwogo founded and heads Covenant Nations Church. However, critics have accused him of presiding over a reign of terror, with opposition supporters abducted from their homes and some tortured to death.
A report released on Friday by the Uganda Human Rights Commission, a government body, cited torture and detention without trial, as key concerns.
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