General Muhoozi Kainrugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has reactivated his X account nearly a week after quitting the social media platform, citing a renewed focus on his military duties.
“I had returned!” General Kainerugaba posted on his verified account @mkainerugaba which quickly amassed hundreds of followers.
He returned in his distinctive style with a series of controversial blog posts, in which he threatened to “destabilize this world!”
The 50-year-old general has become increasingly involved in the political arena, in violation of military protocol, which has sparked controversy again over his ambitions to succeed his father, who has been in power since 1986.
Critics have criticized the general for statements he made on social media, which touched on topics considered taboo for a serving soldier.
He recently sparked outrage with a tweet in which he threatened to behead the country's leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine.
Announcing his return to the microblogging platform on Thursday, General Kainerugaba ordered Ugandan security services to immediately arrest any opposition figure found wearing anything resembling the country's military uniform.
“And those who do not respect this order…have their own problems,” added the general who heads Uganda's ground forces.
He also threatened to deport an unnamed American diplomat, citing his failure to “salute” the general.
“My only problem is the American military attaché. If I find him anywhere… and he doesn’t stand up and greet me… I will arrest him immediately!!”
The general also asked what “the BBC said about me,” referring to the company Reporting on his announcement of resignation from X last week.
This is the second time that General Kainerugaba has resigned and then returned to the social media platform in three years.
He left for the first time in 2022 but returned days later and continued his social media rampage, which had previously sparked diplomatic tensions.
In October that year, he made headlines after he posted a series of tweets threatening to invade neighboring Kenya, a comment that forced his father to intervene and apologise.
Gen Kainerugaba’s recent post in which he threatened to “cut off” company boss Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, sparked widespread condemnation in the country.
Although the general apologized for the post which he described as a joke, Bobi Wine said he cannot take such threats lightly.
The Ugandan government downplayed the post, with a spokesperson describing General Kainerugaba's statements on social media as “incidental” statements that should not be construed as reflecting official policy.
General Kainerugaba is widely believed to be the heir apparent to his father who has ruled Uganda since 1986, although Museveni has denied he is grooming him for the presidency.
His X account currently has over 1,000 followers. The old account has gathered more than a million followers.
In his return message, he urged his supporters to follow him.
“I want all my people back. Bring them all back!”
