Dictatorship

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s Son Eyes 2026 Election Challenge

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the eldest son of Uganda’s long-serving autocratic leader, is set to contest in the 2026 presidential election in a gambit that could potentially see the military officer take full control of this soon-to-be oil-producing nation that has been under the firm grip of his father for nearly four decades.

His bid for the presidency has shaken structures in the ruling National Resistance Movement party and military. Last month, General Kainerugaba who also serves as the presidential adviser on special operations launched a campaign team comprising notable politicians and other key personalities as part of his campaign efforts. He has also begun appearing at rallies for his supporters.

“I will stay in touch and engaged with you in regards to the next steps of my campaign,” he told a cheering crowd of mainly youthful supporters known as the MK movement, who constantly interrupted his speech with clapping, ululations, and chanting at a rally held in Kapchorwa, northeastern Uganda in January.

But veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye says that what Muhoozi is attempting to do is create a new power base that will attract the attention of young people who have lost interest in the ruling party and its leader.

“He wants to create something that appears new, although it is exactly the same thing,” Besigye told Ubuntu Times.

Mr. Museveni has long been suspected of grooming the 48-year-old general to be his successor in order to establish what opponents call monarchical rule in Uganda. This follows a playbook by other authoritarian dictators in Africa, such as Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Cameroon’s Paul Biya’, who have attempted to anoint their sons as the next presidents.

General Kainerugaba’s rallies are also against Ugandan law, which prohibits serving army officers from participating in politics. The 1995 Constitution and the Uganda People’s Defence Force Act – UPDF 2005 bar or prohibit serving army officers from dabbling in partisan politics.

“He is perpetuating the abuse of the constitution, abuse of the law and this disqualifies him from being considered a leader,” says Besigye. “He is acting against the country and cannot aspire to lead it at the same time.”

General Kainerugaba has also earned himself the name “the tweeting general” with his controversial tweets. Just like former US President Donald Trump, the general uses Twitter to promote his profile. He once tweeted that the Ugandan army might invade Kenya.

“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, two weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted.

This prompted Mr. Museveni to relieve him of his then duties as commander of the UPDF’s Land Forces and denounce his controversial use of Twitter. However, Museveni still promoted Kainerugaba to a five-star general and retained him as his adviser on military affairs.

Last year, Kainerugaba held a spree of lavish birthday celebrations across the country. The celebrations were attended by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Political analysts contend that these are all clear signs that Kainerugaba is being maneuvered into place to succeed his father.

General Kainerugaba joined the army in 1999 after graduating from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in England. He rose through the ranks to command the presidential security unit, which has now been expanded into an elite Special Forces Command SFC group. The SFC protects the president, his family, and critical assets including oil fields.

With an estimated 10,000 men, the SFC is Uganda’s most powerful branch of the army. Kainerugaba led the SFC from 2008 to 2017, and later from December 2020 to July 2021, during the tumultuous presidential election season.

In July 2021, he was promoted to lead the Uganda land forces, the army’s main component but later demoted by his father-the commander in chief, following a string of divisive tweets that sparked domestic and international uproar.

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Member of Parliament and the spokesperson of the main opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change FDC, says that Museveni is merely seeking to create an uneven playing field for anyone attempting to oppose him come 2026.

“This is again another tactic Mr. Museveni is using to prolong his rule,” said Ssemujju.

Many Ugandans continue to decry the controversial rule of President Museveni who has been in power for 37 years now. In 2021, Mr. Museveni secured for himself five more years as president in a general election that was marred by violence and claims of vote-rigging by his main challenger famous musician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu well known by his stage name Bobi Wine.

Because of the 2017 constitutional reform that removed the age limit, there is nothing in the constitution that prevents Mr.Museveni from standing again and again. Presidential term limits were also removed in 2005. Museveni’s new term ends in 2026 and by then he will have ruled Uganda for 40 years.

On January 24, Museveni launched Uganda’s first drilling rig for the Kingfisher oilfield, operated by China’s CNOOC company and estimated to bring in more than $50 billion. A local NGO organized a public debate on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline at a city hotel on the same day. Opposition leaders Kizza Besigye and Robert Kyagulanyi were among the invited speakers, but a military squad barricaded and sealed up the hotel entrance, denying the public access to the venue and canceling the event.

“I don’t mind Kainerugaba’s intentions to run for president, but I’m concerned about the vulgarization of national institutions like the UPDF army. He should first quit the army,” said Sarah Bireete, the executive director of a local think tank, Center for Constitutional Governance.

Uganda Elections: Bobi Wine Withdraws Election Petition Against Museveni

Uganda’s youthful musician turned opposition politician, Robert Kyagulanyi has ended his long shot suit aiming to overturn President Yoweri  Museveni’s disputed victory in the January 14 election, clearing the way for the long-serving leader to extend his 35-year rule.

Kyagulanyi, known by his stage name Bobi Wine blamed judges on the 9-man panel of bias and said he would now refer the matter to the court of “public opinion” setting the stage for a possible repeat of raucous street protests.

“We have decided to withdraw our petition from court because it’s clear that the courts are not independent, these people are working for Mr. Museveni,” he told a cheering crowd of supporters in the yard of his party offices, in the slums of Kamwokya.

Wine in his application to withdraw the petition listed several reasons including court rejecting amendment to his petition, arrest of his key witnesses, and alleged bias in the court towards Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.

The decision marked a tantalizing end for the suit, which was poised to be a stern test for judicial independence in this east African nation. Across Africa, fewer courts have overturned elections although Kenya’s Supreme Court came up with a stunning ruling four years ago, reversing the 2017 election win of President Uhuru Kenyatta.  

Oscar Kihika, one of Museveni’s lawyers said that Wine would have to pay all the expenses his client had spent on the petition.

Last month, Wine through his lawyers, filed the petition seeking to nullify the election that saw Museveni win a sixth term with 58 percent of the votes and Wine just 35%.

Museveni, the electoral commission, and the Attorney-General filed their 185 affidavits in response to the 53 grounds that the National Unity Platform legal team had raised to prove that the election was rigged, and wasn’t free and fair. 

Wine continues to call upon Ugandans to reject the results of the controversial election in which dozens of opposition party members and supporters were killed and arrested. The elections were further plagued with voter intimidation and heavy military deployment in several districts that were opposition strongholds. Wine was put under de facto house arrest for 12 days after the election and later released on court order. 

Election monitoring was further complicated by the denial of accreditation to European Union observers and members of the United States observer mission.

Internet access was blocked across the country on the eve of elections and restored on Jan. 18 however access to social media sites like Facebook remains restricted and can only be accessed using Virtual Private Networks.

“A democratic playing field for free and fair elections was worryingly absent during elections,” said Oryem Nyeko, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Ugandan government should take concrete steps to improve respect for human rights for all and remove all remaining restrictions.”

But Museveni continues to laud the elections as the most “free and fair” poll Uganda has ever had. “This was one of the most cheating free elections since 1962,” he said in January just after election results were certified by the National Electoral Commission. “I thank the 57% of Uganda’s 18 million registered voters that participated in the election.”

Protests Hit Uganda After Politicians Arrest

Kampala, November 20 — Dozens of people have been killed in raucous street clashes pitting supporters of presidential candidate Bobi wine and security forces, the country’s worst election-related violence since President Yoweri Museveni came to power, nearly four decades ago.

Police using tear gas and live ammunition killed some 37 people and injured more than 100 others as they battled to control supporters of Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi a day after he was arrested ostensibly for flouting Coronavirus preventive guidelines.

Several streets and city suburbs descended into a flurry of tear gas, live bullets, and mass arrests as police battled supporters of Mr. Kyagulanyi. Police and troops in riot gear used pepper spray and water cannons as they cleared streets and hallways of protesters, arresting anyone wearing red clothing, Mr.Kyagulanyi’s party color, which authorities have banned, saying red clothing is a preserve of the military. Some 600 people were arrested.

Protests break out in Kampala over Bobi Wine arrest
Deadly protests broke out in Kampala after Ugandan Musician turned politician was arrested at a campaign rally. Credit: Chimprereports

“All indicators reveal that these events were not just impromptu,” said Fred Enanga the police spokesman, “they were part of a loosely coordinated campaign by the political group to cause anarchy.”

The musician turned politician was arrested at a campaign rally that had drawn a large crowd in the east of the country.

Mr.Kyagulanyis’s wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, said that the police had denied the family and his lawyers access to him, further angering the supporters.

The 37-year-old together with 11 others will be competing in the 2021 presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni who has ruled the country for 34 years. He has endeared himself to Uganda’s youth, who make up more than half of the population for his bold criticism of Mr. Museveni. Uganda’s general election will be held on 14 January next year.

A government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, said that the police was doing its job and had responded appropriately to the protesters. He blamed the protesters for being rowdy and violent instead of resolving their concerns using legal means.

Shops, restaurants, and several other businesses have been closed for the past two days around the capital and major townships around the country.

Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, the Deputy Executive Director National Referral hospital says that the hospital has so far received 16 bodies and 46 people have been admitted at the casualty ward nursing injuries sustained in the protests. According to Byanyima, four people died last night as a result of injuries.

Kyagulanyi has been arrested several times before and tortured in custody the latest being last month just after he had been nominated to run for presidency as the official flag bearer of the National Unity Platform party.

“This is the price of having a president who cannot read that he has overstayed his welcome, the riots are just a tip of the iceberg,” said Joseph Mukasa a charity worker in Kampala.

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