Museveni son backs Russia assault on Ukraine
President Yoweri Museveni’s son has openly voiced support for Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a tweet, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who heads the Uganda army, stated that “the majority of mankind (that are non-white) support Russia’s stand in Ukraine. Putin is absolutely right!”
“When the USSR parked nuclear armed missiles in Cuba in 1962, the West was ready to blow up the world over it. Now when Nato does the same they expect Russia to do differently,” he added.
He becomes the second senior military officer in Africa to publicly voice support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine alongside Sudan’s Gen Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagolo.
Of late though, he has been an active newsmaker and political analysts in Kampala have not shied away from indicating his drive to earn prominence in the society, and perhaps sustain his political ambition.
The 47-year old, is not only considered one of the most powerful people in the Uganda, but has increasingly been mentioned as a possible heir to his father who’s ruled the land-locked country for three and a half decades.
The number of people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine has surged to more than half a million and at least 102 civilians have been killed since Moscow’s troops entered the country, according to the United Nations.
His support comes months after Uganda’s military expressed disappointment with U.S. sanctions against its military intelligence chief Major General Abel Kandiho for alleged human rights abuses.
Ugandan rights activists welcomed the sanctions — for torture and sexual abuse under Kandiho — but say more needs to be done.
In a statement to local media in December, Ugandan People’s Defense Forces, or UPDF, spokesperson Flavia Byekwaso says Major General Abel Kandiho was not given a fair hearing by U.S. authorities before announcing what she described as unilateral financial sanctions.
Byekwaso, a brigadier general, said that as a country and the UPDF, in particular, they were disappointed that such a decision could be made by a country they consider friendly, a partner and a great ally.
The U.S. Treasury Department says that as commander of the Ugandan Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), Kandiho and other CMI officers targeted individuals due to their nationality, political views, or criticism of the Ugandan government.
It says individuals were taken into custody and held, often without legal proceedings, at CMI detention facilities where they were subjected to horrific beatings and other egregious acts by CMI officials, including sexual abuse and electrocutions, often resulting in significant long-term injury and even death.
It says in some cases, Kandiho was personally involved, leading interrogations of detained individuals.