MWEBAZA KAWUKI: 8 reasons why General Muhoozi is not ready for the Highest Office 

Recently I read an article with the title: 8 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT GENERAL MUHOOZI KAINERUGABA TO BECOME UGANDA’S PRESIDENT. The author gave a well written and well-argued case for this position.

Unfortunately, the argument was not entirely persuasive, and I felt the need to respond to the claims, point by point, showing the holes in them. I am not dismissive of the General’s aspirations simply because he is the current President’s son. I simply think that the author’s case here is weak and here is why:

1. The author says that we should support General Muhoozi because he will be tough on corruption. It is difficult to take this claim seriously. Muhoozi is currently one of the senior Presidential Advisors; possibly the third most powerful person in the government. If he has not been able to even demonstrate the capacity to root out corruption as number three, he does not inspire confidence that he will succeed as number one. It is not enough for one to say: I abhor corruption”, or for him to promise that he will use an “iron fist” to stop it. All other potential candidates will claim the same thing. But Muhoozi has the disadvantage of being at the centre of power and not having done anything about it. It is difficult to believe he will all of a sudden make a difference when he is the man in charge.
2. The author says that General Muhoozi will restore term limits. This claim is almost laughable for at least two reasons. His father was most eloquent in giving the same reassurance to the people of Uganda. More than three decades ago, General Museveni claimed that one of Africa’s biggest problems are Leaders who refuse to vacate the office peacefully. We believed him. Today, he is on track to becoming Africa’s longest-serving President. Secondly, and perhaps most important, we have yet to hear or see General Muhoozi protesting his father’s unconstitutional decision to stay in power for all this time. Had Muhoozi come down strong on the side of the Constitution with respect to this issue, ten years ago when it was a matter of national debate, his claims now might have sounded more credible. Instead, it now feels like we are being led down another rabbit hole.
3. The author claims that General Muhoozi is the leader of the young generation. I have heard many people say this repeatedly, but I am at a loss to understood why. Is there anyone out there who truly believes that Muhoozi understands the experience of the young generation today? He has lived a life of privilege only a handful of Ugandans understand. His needs have been taken care of for him, his aspirations met without struggle. Is this the man you would argue represents the experience of the new generation of Ugandans? If you are going down this path, why not Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu? Who can deny that Kyagulanyi is the undisputed leader of this generation. He is charismatic, has lived the experience of ordinary Ugandans, understands how young people struggle to make it. He articulates their pain, voices their frustrations, and inspires their hope. I honestly do not understand how anyone can overlook Kyagulanyi, to claim that Muhoozi is leader of the young generation of Ugandans today. What has he done to inspire the youth lately?
4. The author has said that as a leader, General Muhoozi will be a man of peace. To claim this, one must be able to point to real evidence in support of the claim. I will put the issue of Rwanda to the side for a moment. There is a red herring there that I will address shortly. The question is what has Muhoozi done to demonstrate a peace-driven leader? What I have seen, to the contrary, is him wading into international conflicts with unhelpful, undiplomatic commentary. He took sides in the Eritrean civil war, made jaw-dropping claims about the Ukrainian war and called upon Russia to deploy nuclear weapons. He has made unhelpful comments about regime changes in Africa without fully understanding the dynamics on the ground. And who has forgotten his rant (multiple times) about Kenya and the invasion of Nairobi. These are not the words of an up-and-coming leader who understands diplomacy. And if, as some have claimed, he was merely goofing around, then he is still incredibly immature and not ready for prime time. Now, regarding Rwanda, okay, lets give him credit for that one. Still, as the General himself admitted, his ace in the game was that the President of Rwanda is his uncle. Diplomacy today cannot rely entirely on family ties. What will happen when another leader occupies the office in Rwanda? Can he demonstrate skills of persuasion and compromise that are not grounded in being a relative of his counterpart? The problem is, based on his twitter record, other leaders will view the General with suspicion, certainly not as a man of peace.
5. The author then cites General Muhoozi’ experience as a player in the current regime, arguing that this will ensure stability and continuity as we transition into the new regime. I think the author is confused about something here. What provides stability and continuity in a democratic system is the Constitution, which every new government swears to uphold. General Muhoozi is a powerful player in a government that has been running the country for almost 40 years. Are the people satisfied with the direction the country is going? Is the country on the right track? Are we looking for five more years of the same? If the answers to these questions are “No”, then the people are not looking for continuity. On the contrary, they are looking for a leader with the courage to steer the country into another direction.
6. The author says that addressing the problem of Kampala’s infrastructure will be General Muhoozi’ top priority. Here, again, the General’s promises sound hollow because he is number three in a regime that has had more than enough time to address these problems. Debate on the 2023/24 budget has been in the news lately. If General Muhoozi was serious about tackling Kampala’s infrastructure, one would expect – I don’t know – perhaps a line in the budget sponsored by the General going to the infrastructure problem. One would expect to see Muhoozi in the news, on TV shows and other relevant media fighting to get things done. We are not seeing any of this kind of nuts-and-bolts effort from the General, focused on solving the problem. It is not enough for him to say that he recognizes the problem and the need to address it. We all do. But we need to see him championing a vision and taking concrete steps to achieve these goals, in order to inspire our confidence.
7. The author says that General Muhoozi has a Pan-African mindset and vision for African unity. My question on this one is: who doesn’t? It is not enough to support African unity or to have a Pan-Africanist attitude. What we would like to see from someone with the General’s current access and power are tangible action and achievements towards this goal. What has he actually done to uplift his profile in this regard? Where does he stand between the Nkrumah and Nyerere doctrines? What is he doing to help bring African people together? If he has done nothing to demonstrate his commitment African unity with the access he now has, why should we trust that he will do anything constructive when he is President. Unfortunately, his twitter account makes it difficult to believe he is the man to watch, for African unity.
8. Finally, the author’s claim that General Muhoozi is committed to the welfare of service personnel. One must give him credit for his service in the army. No one can take that away from him. Nevertheless, appointments and promotions in themselves are not achievements, especially when it is undeniable that he got to where he is partly because of his status as the President’s son. I am hard pressed to find a singular real achievement that we may point to as his own. On the other hand, there is concern that Muhoozi has not been vocal  in support of creating a diverse national army. True he is currently not the Commander in Chief, still, he is strategically positioned to influence the composition of our military. We have not seen him advocating vociferously for diversity in the army, State departments and other agencies. 

I do not believe that General Muhoozi should be denied the opportunity serve in the highest office of the land, simply because he is the President’s son. However, neither do I think it is right for him to become President merely because he is the President’s son.