As the debate on 2021 general elections rages on and pundits continue to weigh which candidate is better placed to beat President Yoweri Museveni, one man seems to be building his base in preparation for the 2026 presidential elections. That man is President Museveni’s son also Senior presidential advisor on special operations Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Muhoozi has not come out openly to express interest in running for president in 2026 but he has of late been hinting on his political ambitions. From praising his father and uncle Gen Salim Saleh who now heads Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) to saying he pities those who oppose him and his father, and to recently claiming that nobody can defeat him and his father because they are descendants of the Bachwezi.
A few months ago, the First Son also said his friends have turned the curse that his enemies thought they would bring upon him by talking about the so-called Muhoozi Project, into a blessing.
“Some evil people coined this phrase to try and destroy us! But trust my generation to convert every curse into a blessing! Thank you, Ugandans!” said Muhoozi in a post in early March to which he attached a photo of himself donning a yellow hooded jumper reading ‘Muhoozi Project’.
In 2013, former spy chief Gen David Sejusa got in trouble with Museveni after he claimed that there was an alleged plan to eliminate senior government and military officials opposed to the Muhoozi Project where he alleged the First Son would succeed his father as President once Museveni leaves office.
A group that includes events promoter Balaam Barugahara, has been marketing Muhoozi’s 2026 presidential project. Among other things, they have made donations to the Covid19 national taskforce on behalf of Muhoozi (under the name Friends of Muhoozi), and recently donated food items to starving online influencers such as Ashburg Katto who crossed from People Power pressure group of Bobi Wine, the Kyadondo East MP, to NRM.
Who is Gen Muhoozi?
Born on April 24, 1974 in Dar Salaam Tanzania, Muhoozi is the first son of President Yoweri Museveni and Janet Museveni,the Minister of Education and Sports.
Currently, he serves as the Senior Presidential Adviser for Special Operations.
As a child, Muhoozi attended schools in Tanzania, Mount Kenya Academy in Nyeri Kenya and Sweden. After his father became President , he attended Kampala Parents School, King’s College Budo for a while and St. Mary’s College Kisubi.
He was later admitted to Egyptian Military Academy where he took both the company and battalion commanders courses. Upon his return to Uganda from Sandhurst in 2000, Muhoozi was assigned to the Presidential Protection Unit as a second lieutenant. In 2001, he was promoted to the rank of major in the army.
As a major, he became a brigade commander in the Presidential Guard Brigade.
He also attended the Kalama Armoured Warfare Training School, in Kabamba, Mubende District. In 2007 he was admitted to a one-year course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in June 2008. Following that, he successfully completed the Executive National Security Programme at the South African National Defence College.
Following his graduation from Fort Leavenworth in 2008, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed Commander of the Special Forces Group in UPDF. On 16 May 2016 he was promoted to the rank of major general by the President.
Museveni moved Muhoozi to the post of Senior Presidential Adviser for Special Operations on 10 January 2017.
The General is married to Charlotte Nankunda Kutesa and the couple has three children together.
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