By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Uganda says it has cut all military ties with Germany after it accused Berlin’s ambassador to Kampala, Matthias Schauer, of involvement in “subversive activities” in the East African country.
“The Uganda People’s Defence Forces has with immediate effect suspended all ongoing defence and military cooperation activities with the Federal Republic of Germany,” spokesperson of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Chris Magezi, said in a statement posted on the X platform on Sunday.
The decision was “in response to credible intelligence reports that the current German Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Mathias Schauer, is actively engaged in subversive activities in the country,” the spokesperson said.
According to UPDF, Schauer was engaging with “hostile pseudo-political groups” operating within the country. “This suspension will remain in force until the matter is fully resolved,” Magezi added.
However, he did not give details of those activities or of any existing military cooperation between Uganda and Germany.
Uganda is contributing its troops in the ongoing peacekeeping effort under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission (AUSSOM) in Somalia. AUSSOM is partly funded by the European Union, which has Germany as a member.
Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, while reacting to the development on Sunday, said the military was having problems with Schauer as a person.
“It has to do with him as a person. He is wholly unqualified to be in Uganda. It has nothing to do with the great German people,” Kainerugaba said in a post on X.
Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and widely seen as heir apparent, is widely known for his inflammatory posts on social media, which have included threats to Western diplomats in Kampala.
This month, he warned the EU was “playing with fire” after a group of EU ambassadors met officials from Uganda’s largest opposition party, including its leader, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine.
Kainerugaba had also in the past threatened to behead Bobi Wine, who has indicated interest in running in the country’s January 2026 presidential election against Museveni, who has been in office for nearly 40 years.
Earlier this month, Kainerugaba arrested, detained and allegedly tortured Wine’s chief bodyguard, Eddie Mutwe, claiming that he had captured the opposition protester like a “grasshopper”.
