“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi”, The tweet by Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba that has got Kenyans talking.
So who is this man threatening to capture Kenyan’s capital?
Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is the Commander of Land Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
He is the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. He has previously served as the head of Special Forces Command (SFC).
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background & Family
Kainerugaba was born on April 24, 1974 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to President Museveni and Janet Museveni.
He is the first born in the family. He was raised in a Christian family and was born again while a student in high school.
In 1999, Kainerugaba married Charlotte Nankunda Kutesa.
Education
He first attended schools in Tanzania where he was born. He was then transferred to Mount Kenya Academy in Nyeri, and later to Sweden.
After Museveni became president in 1986, Kainerugaba attended Kampala Parents School, and King’s College in Budo. Later he joined St Mary’s College Kisubi where he graduated from in 1994.
He would later pursue company and battalion commander courses at the Egyptian Military Academy. He also had a stint at the Karama Armoured Warfare Training School (KAWATS) in Uganda.
In 2007, Kainerugaba was admitted to the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Missouri. He spent one year at the institution and graduated in June 2008.
Kainerugaba then successfully completed the Executive National Security Programme at the South African National Defence College.
Career
He joined UPDF as an officer cadet in 1999. In 2000, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and deployed to the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU). He served at the PPU intelligence office as Head of Combat readiness.
Kainerugaba was promoted to the rank of Major in 2003 when PPU was reorganised into Presidential Guards Brigade (PGB). He was appointed Commanding Officer (CO) of the fledgling Motorized Infantry Battalion. He also became a member of the Defence Forces Council.
In 2005, he commanded and trained advanced infantry skills at Kasenyi Training School.
Kainerugaba, became UPDF’s first paratrooper after graduating from the US Army’s Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia in July 2008.
He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Commander of Special Forces in the UPDF the same year.
In 2010, he was appointed as the first Commander Special Forces Group (SFG). A special unit of UPDF that deals with counter-terrorism, direct action, VIP protection and special reconnaissance.
In 2011, he planned and organised the entry of Ugandan troops into Somalia as part of AMISOM.
He was promoted to Brigadier General in August 2012 and and appointed Commander Special Forces Command.
In 2013 and 2014, he was deployed in South Sudan following the break out of a civil war in the country.
On June 24, 2021, Kainerugaba was appointed the Commander of Land Forces of the UPDF.
Health
On July 27, 2021, it was reported that he was very ill and was admitted at the Nairobi Hospital for special treatment.
He has been admitted at the medical facility for the last three days, though his condition remains unknown.
Tweets
A series of tweets by Museveni’s son has got Kenyans miffed if not confused. Here are some of those disturbing tweets:
It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi.
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 3, 2022
After our army captures Nairobi, where should I live? Westlands? Riverside?
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 3, 2022
