Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has promoted his elder son Muhoozi Kaneirugaba from the rank of Lieutenant to the rank of full General.
General is the highest rank in the hierarchy of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).
On Tuesday, October 4, Museveni’s first borne son edited his official Twitter account suggesting that he had been dropped as the Commander of Land forces.
Kainerugaba who has been on Twitter meltdown since Tuesday, October 3, revealed that he had just had a conversation with his father, saying the changes would be communicated later.
“Had a good discussion with my great father this morning. Apparently, my tweets scared Kenyans too much. He will announce the changes. There is a special prayer I shall make for our army,” he said in a Tweet.
Local media in Uganda reported that Muhoozi has been replaced by Major General Kayanja Muhanga, the current commander of Operation Shujaa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Muhanga has also been promoted from the rank of Major General to Lieutenant General.
Muhoozi joined the Uganda People’s Defense Force at the rank of officer cadet.
In 2000, the 49-year-old graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the British Army’s officer training school.
Kainerugaba quickly rose through the UPDF ranks and in ten years later, he was promoted to colonel despite criticism from President Museveni’s political rivals.
Museveni’s son’s promotion comes just hours after he had threatened to topple President William Ruto’s government by conquering the country’s capital city Nairobi.
He started by blaming retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he refers to as his “big brother”, for not contesting for a third term in the August 2022 polls, adding the retired president could have easily won the election.
“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted.