President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has personally apologized to Kenyans for his son’s recent threats to invade Nairobi. President Museveni claimed that General Kainerugaba’s comments were unacceptable because they meddled in Kenya’s domestic affairs.
“It is not correct for public officers, be they civilian or military, to comment or interfere in any way, in the internal affairs of brother countries. The only available legitimate forum is the Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union or confidential interactions among us or EAC and AU fora –not public comments,” he said in a statement posted on his social media platforms. He additionally moved quickly to defend the recent promotion of his son to a full general, claiming that the guy had made numerous valuable services to the nation.
“This is because this mistake is one aspect where he has acted negatively as a Public officer. There are, however, many other positive contributions the General has made and can still make. This is a time-tested formula –discourage the negative and encourage the positive,” he added. The Ugandan military chief’s comments on social media sparked debate and forced the nation to deal with an unpleasant diplomatic dispute.
According to reports, representatives from the two nations met behind closed doors to try to find a solution. Before the tweets, Mr Muhoozi held the position of Commander of the Land Forces but as of Tuesday, he was promoted to the highest rank in the Ugandan military by his father President Yoweri Museveni. Unknown is whether the promotion was a covert attempt at easing diplomatic tension between the two countries while stroking Mr Kainerugaba’s ego. The high-ranking officer was promoted after making comments that could be regarded as posing a threat to another sovereign state.
