Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni, was promoted to the rank of general on Tuesday. Kainerugaba caused a stir on the previous day with a saucy Twitter rant in which he offered a 100-cow dowry for the hand of newly elected Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and threatened to invade Italy if his offer was refused.
Kainerugaba, 48, is seen as the likely successor to his 78-year-old father, who has been in power for 35 years. Until Tuesday, he held the rank of Lt. General and was nominal commander of Uganda’s ground forces, a post he relinquished with his promotion to become “senior presidential adviser for special operations” to Museveni.
The Ugandan Foreign Ministry distanced itself from Kainerugaba’s bizarre Twitter rant on Monday, which began with some musings about how he could conquer neighboring Kenya in two weeks flat if he felt like it, then moved along to his marriage proposal for Meloni:
Meloni, 45, became Italy’s first female prime minister last month. She is unmarried but has a longterm partner, Andrea Giambruno, with whom she shares a daughter. There was no immediate response to Kainerugaba’s marriage proposal and invasion threat from Meloni, Giambruno, her foreign ministry, the Italian military, or the relevant European Union livestock import agencies, which would presumably be called upon to process Kaierugaba’s dowry, should Meloni choose to accept his proposal. Kaierugaba has since expressed some concern about how Italian agencies would address his dowry.
Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, better known by his singing and acting stage name Bobi Wine, on Wednesday denounced Kainerugaba’s promotion to general as an outrageous act of nepotism, especially after his antics on Twitter embarrassed the nation.
“After yesterday’s thoughtless tweets and threats against Kenya, Museveni has rewarded his brutal son with a fresh gift: the rank of full general. He will soon be retired as he awaits coronation as head of our country. All people who wish Uganda well must stop being indifferent,” Wine said.
“Let me sound a warning to all governments and international organizations which continue to work with Museveni’s illegitimate government: you can see what you have been funding and sustaining all along. It is time to say enough,” Wine added.
The East African said Kainerugaba’s “promotion” was actually intended by Museveni as a mild slap on the wrist for his reckless progeny, since the “First Son” has been removed as commander of ground forces and slotted into an advisory position that will keep him close to his father.
Museveni seemed to confirm this interpretation on Wednesday by admitting his son has “acted negatively as a public officer,” but insisting there are “many other positive contributions the General has made and still can make.”
“This is a time-tested formula: discourage the negative and encourage the positive,” the president said.
Some observers of Ugandan politics suggested Kainerugaba went on his awkward Twitter rant because he was upset by news that his father will seek “re-election” again in 2026, a contest he had hoped to enter as Museveni’s successor.
“It can be questioned whether this promotion effectively entails more power. It could be perceived as a way to lower his profile, and reduce his real power,” ventured Kristof Titeca, an expert on Central Africa at the University of Antwerp.
Uganda is actually involved in combat operations at the moment, including a joint operation with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Islamist extremists called Operation Shujaa. Over a dozen Ugandan soldiers were killed last week when their helicopter crashed in the DRC shortly after takeoff.
The commander of Uganda’s forces in Operation Shujaa, Maj. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, was promoted to Lt. General on Tuesday and given Kainerugaba’s old position as commander of Ugandan ground forces.