Uganda army dismisses US senator’s criticism after its military chief deletes posts

By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA)—Uganda's army on Sunday dismissed sanction threats from US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair Sen. Jim Risch, who criticized the Ugandan military chief for deleting posts accusing the US Embassy in Kampala of undermining security cooperation.

“Threats and intimidation by a foreign power in our country’s internal affairs is an outdated colonial tactic that will be vigorously resisted especially coming from a so-called senator,” army spokesperson Col. Chris Magezi said on US social media company X.

He said the beneficial partnership between Kampala and Washington in areas such as defense, security, health, and education "will not change because of one wayward and loose cannon senator."

Ugandan army chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son, on Friday accused the US Embassy of being involved in the disappearance of the opposition leader Bobi Wine, citing intelligence that linked the embassy’s current administration to the incident.

Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has been in hiding since Museveni was declared the winner of the Jan. 15 presidential polls.

“We as UPDF suspend ALL cooperation with the current Administration at the US Embassy in Kampala. This includes our work in Somalia,” Muhoozi said on X.

Later, he deleted his posts, offering an apology to the US for his earlier statements.

“I was being fed with wrong information. I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country and everything is okay. We are going to continue our military cooperation as usual,” he said.

In response, Sen. Jim Risch said Muhoozi had “crossed a red line,” prompting the US to reevaluate its security partnership with Uganda, including sanctions and military cooperation.

“The president's son, and likely successor, cannot just delete tweets and issue hollow apologies,” he said.

Risch said Washington “will not tolerate this level of instability and recklessness when American personnel, U.S. interests, and innocent lives in the region are at stake.”

Museveni, now 81 years old and in power for four decades, has successfully aligned his government with many of the US regional security priorities, including Washington’s counterterrorism efforts across the region.

He was re-elected for a seventh term after winning the presidential election with 71.65% of the vote, while his main challenger, Wine, received 24.72%.

Earlier, Risch urged the Trump administration to review its relations with Uganda, “beginning with a review of whether sanctions are warranted under existing authorities against specific actors, including General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.”