Uganda’s Army Rejects New York Times Report on Muhoozi
UGANDA · MILITARY AND MEDIA
Key Facts
- —What happened Uganda’s army rejected a US newspaper feature on its chief.
- —When Statement issued on Saturday, 10 October, by Col Chris Magezi.
- —The target A Megan K. Stack feature published on Thursday, 8 October.
- —The person Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, army chief and President Museveni’s son.
- —Army’s line Claims are unfounded; foreign interference “will not be tolerated.”
- —Still open No public reply yet from the newspaper or Washington.
Uganda’s military has turned a US newspaper feature into a fight over who shapes the country’s post-Museveni future.
The Uganda army on Saturday, 10 October, rejected a New York Times feature on its commander, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The feature links him to alleged human rights abuses.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) called the report unfounded and part of a sustained character assassination campaign, the Daily Monitor reported.
The dispute matters beyond Kampala because Muhoozi is President Yoweri Museveni’s son and widely seen as a possible successor. Uganda is also a long-standing US security partner, with troops deployed against al-Shabaab in Somalia.
What the Uganda Army Said
The statement came from Col Chris Magezi, Acting Director of Defence Public Information, the army’s chief spokesman. He said the article “regurgitates long held, twisted opposition and activist narratives” against the government, according to the Daily Monitor.
Magezi defended Muhoozi as a decorated officer with decades of military service. He said the UPDF works within Uganda’s constitution and that serious accusations require serious evidence, not anecdotal or politically motivated sources.
Muhoozi, 52, has been Chief of Defence Forces since March 2024. He is also Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations, according to the army.
Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. The question of who follows him dominates the country’s politics, and Muhoozi’s rise has made the army central to that debate.
What the US Newspaper Reported
The feature, written by Megan K. Stack and published on Thursday, 8 October, is titled “The Authoritarian Future Is Already Here.” The Daily Monitor said it describes a growing state surveillance system in Uganda, including facial recognition and digital tracking tools.
According to the same summary, the piece links Muhoozi to the detention and suppression of opposition figures. It names singer-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, and Kizza Besigye, a veteran opposition leader on trial for alleged treason.
Kyagulanyi leads the National Unity Platform, Uganda’s main opposition party. Besigye, a former Museveni physician, ran for president four times before founding his own movement.
The feature also draws on the account of Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, an exiled Ugandan novelist. He alleges that Muhoozi visited him in detention, ordered him to undress and later offered him a bribe.
The Army’s Answer to Kakwenza
Magezi said Muhoozi and Kakwenza have “never met.” He called the writer “a known fiction teller” and his account “a fine figment of his imagination,” the Daily Monitor reported.
The spokesman also pointed to what he called contradictions in the story.
He said the account had Kakwenza bending over to look shorter, yet too injured at the ankles to stand. He called this “quite laughable.”
Kakwenza was arrested in December 2021 after social media posts about Muhoozi and Museveni. He left Uganda in 2022 and has since lived in exile, from where he continues to write about his detention.
A Wider Charge Against Foreign Media
The statement went beyond one article. Magezi accused The Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist of bias against Muhoozi as well.
He said Muhoozi “is not their preferred successor of choice to a post-Museveni Uganda.” Uganda’s political future, he added, belongs only to its voters, and external interference “will not be tolerated.”
On the same Saturday, the army’s own website reported Muhoozi meeting the Commonwealth Secretary-General and a Malian military delegation. It also welcomed a new battle group to its Somalia mission area.
What It Means for US Readers
The row puts a major American newspaper at the centre of Uganda’s succession politics. Kampala’s sharp tone suggests the government sees Western coverage of Muhoozi as a political threat, not only a press matter.
For Washington, Uganda is a difficult partner. Its soldiers have formed a core part of African Union forces fighting al-Shabaab in Somalia, a long-running US counter-terrorism priority.
Yet Washington removed Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade programme from January 2024, citing human rights. On Saturday, the Daily Monitor also reported that Uganda remains on Tier 2 in the 2026 US Trafficking in Persons report.
Investors watching Uganda’s oil projects on Lake Albert, led by France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC, track succession risk closely. A more confrontational tone from the army towards Western media adds to that picture, though it changes no policy by itself.
What Is Not Known
The full army statement could not be independently reviewed. Its content here rests on reports by the Daily Monitor and Nile Post.
It is not clear whether it was released as a press statement or on social media.
No public response from the newspaper to the army’s criticism had been reported by Sunday morning. Nor had any comment from Muhoozi himself or the US Embassy in Kampala.
Kakwenza’s allegations have not been tested in any court. The army’s account of his claims has not been tested either.
What Comes Next
Watch for any reply from the newspaper, the writer or the opposition.
Remarks by Muhoozi, who often posts on social media, are also likely. Any comment from the US State Department would raise the stakes.
The statement does not mean any legal action against the newspaper or its reporter. No such step has been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Muhoozi Kainerugaba?
He is Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and the son of President Yoweri Museveni. Many Ugandans see him as a possible successor to his father.
What Did the US Newspaper Report?
According to the Daily Monitor, the 8 October feature describes growing state surveillance and links Muhoozi to the suppression of opposition figures. It also carries a writer’s allegations of abuse in detention.
How Did the Uganda Army Respond?
Spokesman Col Chris Magezi called the claims unfounded and part of a character assassination campaign. He said foreign interference in Uganda’s politics “will not be tolerated.”
Who Is Kakwenza Rukirabashaija?
He is a Ugandan novelist who was detained in December 2021 and now lives in exile. The army says he has never met Muhoozi.
Why Does This Matter to the United States?
Uganda is a key US security partner in Somalia but faces US pressure over human rights. The dispute touches both issues at once.
Sources: Uganda People’s Defence Forces; Daily Monitor, army statement on Muhoozi; Nile Post, army statement on Kakwenza; Daily Monitor, US trafficking report (all accessed 11 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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