Musaazi NAMITI | The Founder’s Mind Space
The government has unveiled a statue of Yoni Netanyahu, the elder brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Yoni was killed in 1976 when Israeli commandos stormed the old terminal at Entebbe Airport to rescue more than 100 hostages held by Palestinian and German hijackers. The hostages had been aboard an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris, via Athens, when it was hijacked and diverted to Uganda.
Uganda and Israel have long enjoyed close diplomatic ties, and Mr Netanyahu has visited Uganda twice. Diplomatic relations between countries are built on interests, not sentiment. Uganda, as Ugandans say, erina kyebaza (it stands to gain from its ties with Israel). The relationship also serves Israel, which, surrounded by adversaries and facing intense international scrutiny over the war in Gaza, values dependable allies.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people, Israel has waged a devastating military campaign in Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities, and much of the territory has been left in ruins. Much of the international community has criticised Israel’s conduct of the war, although some countries continue to stand firmly by it.
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Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who heads Uganda’s army and played a prominent role in erecting the statue, has repeatedly expressed support for Israel on social media. He has made no secret of his presidential ambition. Cultivating close ties with Israel could therefore serve both Uganda’s security interests and his own political calculations.
How might Uganda benefit? Israel is renowned for its intelligence capabilities. For decades, its foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, has built a reputation for gathering intelligence and carrying out complex operations far beyond Israel’s borders. Uganda has also strengthened its security cooperation with Israel and has acquired Israeli surveillance technology as well as military equipment over the years.
Israel also possesses one of the region’s most capable armed forces and has trained soldiers from several African and other countries. Should Gen Kainerugaba eventually succeed his father, President Museveni, maintaining a close relationship with Israel could provide Uganda with continued access to military expertise, training and defence technology.
The unveiling of the statue is therefore about far more than commemorating a military operation carried out half a century ago. It sends a clear diplomatic signal that Uganda intends to preserve and deepen one of its most important security partnerships.
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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 Weekend 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.