President Museveni has publicly apologised to Kenya after former commander of Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba said on his Twitter that his army could capture Nairobi in two weeks.
“I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country,” said Museveni on Wednesday afternoon.
“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,” he added.
This is the first time Museveni is making a public apology for the actions of his family member in a very long time.
Muhooz’s tweets sparked a huge social media storm with Kenyan leaders blasting Muhoozi.
Diplomats in Kampala and Nairobi worked the telephone lines to engage their Kenyan counterparts to avoid a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two neighbors.
Muhoozi later clarified that he was joking, saying he wanted to see common borders eliminated to pave way for the East African Federation.
The tweets came as Kenyan president William Ruto was planning to travel to Uganda for Independence Day celebrations.
Museveni, who attended President Ruto’s inauguration in September, dropped Muhoozi from his military command position, apparently to appease Kenya.
He, however, elevated Muhoozi to the rank of Lieutenant General from General. Museveni acknowledged that Muhoozi was a “passionate Pan Africanist” but should have used other available confidential means of communication.
Museveni had severally cautioned Muhoozi on tweeting about sensitive matters. Kenya is a strategic partner of Uganda.
Uganda, a land locked country, mainly relies on Mombasa port for its imports and exports.
Below is Museveni’s apology in full:
Dear Ugandans, the brotherly People of Kenya and all East Africans.
I greet all of you. Again, I hail the peaceful elections that took place in Kenya recently where H.E. William Ruto emerged winner.
I, again, congratulate him on that victory.
I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country.
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.
Why, then, promote him to full General after these comments? 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.
Very sorry, ndugu zetu Wakenya. Also sorry to the Ugandans who could have been annoyed by one of their officials
meddling in the affairs of brother Kenya. I know for a fact that General Muhoozi is a passionate Pan-Africanist.
However, the correct method for Pan-Africanists is confidential interactions or using the available fora (EAC and AU), especially if you are a Public officer. I have conveyed all those views confidentially to H.E. Ruto, the President of Kenya.
Signed:YK Museveni (Gen. Rtd.)
The old man with a hat
