General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni, has stirred diplomatic tensions by issuing an ultimatum to the US ambassador to Uganda, William Popp, demanding a personal apology or else he will be thrown out of the country.
In an earlier post on X (formerly Twitter), Muhoozi cited the ambassador’s "disrespect" towards the president and alleged actions undermining Uganda’s constitution as reasons behind the ultimatum.
"If this current US ambassador does not apologize to mzee (Museveni) personally by Monday morning (9:00 am) for his undiplomatic behavior in our country, we will demand he leaves Uganda," Muhoozi posted on Friday.
The comments, which have drawn wide attention, come amid strained relations following recent US sanctions targeting top Ugandan officials. Muhoozi, in a series of fiery posts, also accused the US of working against the 38-year rule of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the political party that took power under President Museveni in 1986.
"We have no problem with the USA... But lately we have a lot of evidence that they have been working against the NRM government,” he explained.
The first son did not mince words when addressing potential threats to Uganda’s sovereignty, warning, "If ANYBODY is STUPID enough to attack us here in our country, I can only promise them hell, destruction, and defeat!! Afghanistan would look like a nice picnic compared to our resistance."
These remarks follow the US government’s decision to sanction four former top officials in Uganda’s security forces, accusing them of involvement in human rights abuses and corruption. The US State Department blacklisted former army chief Peter Elwelu, along with police officials Bob Kagarura, Alex Mwine, Elly Womanya, and Hamdani Twesigye, for "gross violations of human rights."
In response, Ben Cardin, chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that any further confrontation would "be very problematic and met with a serious response."
Diplomatic relations between Uganda and the US, while historically strong over the past 60 years, have faced increasing friction in recent years.
