By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Son of Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni, has hinted that he intends joining in the 2026 presidential race, to take over mantle of leadership from his father, who has ruled the East African country for 37 years.
“You have wanted me to say it forever! Okay, in the name of Jesus Christ my God, in the name of all the young people of Uganda and the world and in the name of our great revolution, I will stand for the Presidency in 2026,” the army general wrote on Twitter late on Wednesday.
In another tweet on Wednesday, he expressed his impatience at waiting so long to replace his father.
“The Prime Minister of UK is 42 years old, the Prime Minister of Finland is 37 years. Some of us are hitting 50 years old. We are tired of waiting forever,” the 48-year-old presidential adviser known for stoking controversies on social media said.
He previously served as Commander of land forces but was removed from the position, after threatening to invade neighbouring Kenya, which he later said was a joke.
The tweets set off a chain of diplomatic meetings between both countries in Kampala and Nairobi, as well as a rare presidential apology.
He however, played a major role in settling a strained bilateral relations between Uganda and neighbouring Rwanda, ending a rift between Museveni and Paul Kagame, whom Kainerugaba calls his uncle, in 2022.
Uganda’s opposition has accused Museveni of seeking to impose a monarchy on the state and claimed he was grooming Kainerugaba to take over from him, an allegation he has denied.
