US Senate Warns Uganda Tweeting General, Threatens Sanctions

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch has publicly rebuked Uganda’s army commander and presidential son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, over a series of inflammatory social media posts, marking Washington’s strongest criticism of Kampala since disputed elections returned President Yoweri Museveni to power.

In a statement posted on social media last week, Risch said Kainerugaba had “crossed a red line” and warned that the United States must reconsider its security partnership with Uganda, including possible sanctions and limits on military cooperation.

“The president’s son, and likely successor, cannot just delete tweets and issue hollow apologies,” Risch wrote. “The US will not tolerate this level of instability and recklessness when American personnel, US interests, and innocent lives in the region are at stake.”

Kainerugaba, who serves as commander of Uganda’s land forces, had in recent weeks posted a series of controversial messages on X, formerly Twitter, including threats directed at neighbouring countries and remarks about internal political opponents.

In one post last week, later deleted, he suggested Ugandan troops could “march into” a neighbouring state “in days” if ordered. In another, he warned that critics of his father’s government “would soon learn discipline,” comments that rights groups said amounted to intimidation.

Kainerugaba appeared to retreat, deleting several posts and issuing a brief apology, saying his remarks had been misunderstood and were “not official government policy.”

The Ugandan government has not formally responded to Risch’s statement, but officials have previously said the general’s social media activity reflects personal views and does not represent state policy.

Risch’s intervention is the first open warning by a senior US official since then, signalling a tougher approach as tensions rise over Uganda’s political future and regional security role.

gandae@businessdayafrica.org