KAMPALA, Uganda—Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the military son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has officially quit X, formerly Twitter, a few days after threatening the life of the country’s most prominent opposition leader, Bobi Wine.
With his departure from X, Muhoozi’s decade-long presence on the social media network ends.
With more than a million members, Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces, was a well-known and frequently controversial personality on the platform.
Uganda’s First Son, Muhoozi, thanked his supporters for their support over the years in a parting speech shared by his close ally, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, Uganda’s Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs.
“To all my dear followers, it has been a great whirlwind and rousing journey together on these streets for the last 10 years since 2014,” the now-deleted X post shared by Balaam reads in part.
According to Muhoozi, the time has now come for him to leave and concentrate on his army, the UPDF, under the instructions and blessings of his Lord Jesus Christ.
“I know you all love me, and you will continue to follow me like the wind long after here. At an appropriate time in the future when it becomes important, and after fulfilling the Almighty God’s immediate assignment to restore everlasting peace and security to all His people in our region, we shall always reconverge,” the statement further reads.
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In Balaam’s official X account statement, Muhoozi stated that he loves all his supporters and asked them to keep praying.
“I LOVE you all so much, and in whatever you do, continue to support Uganda, Africa, and our revolutionary President, the greatest General of the Resistance, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Kwaheri and God bless you all,” the statement concludes.
Muhoozi’s exit comes after a string of controversies involving his tweets, which often attracted attention from around the world and caused diplomatic issues.
In his most recent tweet, posted on the evening of Sunday, December 29, 2024, Muhoozi said his father, whom he referred to by the honorific Mzee, was the only person protecting Bobi Wine from him.
“If Mzee were not there, I would cut off his head today,” Muhoozi posted.
Bobi Wine, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who finished second to Museveni in the 2021 presidential election, responded on X that he did not take the threat lightly, saying there had been several previous attempts on his life.
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In a quick rejoinder, Muhoozi responded, “Finally! I woke you up? Before I behead you, repay us the money we loaned you,” suggesting the government had previously bought off Wine to undermine the opposition.
Muhoozi also caused controversy in October 2022 when he asserted that he could take Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, in two weeks.
His comments led to diplomatic interventions between Uganda and Kenya.
Tensions between Kampala and Washington escalated later that month when he openly threatened to oust U.S. Ambassador William Popp from Uganda.
He gained notoriety more recently when he threatened to take over Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
These incidents triggered demands for official apologies from Uganda’s government, highlighting the complexities surrounding his social media presence.
