Uganda’s army chief has apologised to the United States after briefly accusing the US embassy in Kampala of helping opposition leader Bobi Wine evade security forces.
In a social media post on Friday, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that Uganda’s military was suspending all cooperation with the US embassy. About an hour later, he deleted the post and said he had been “fed wrong information,” effectively retracting the accusation.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has been in hiding since this month’s presidential election, which he lost to President Yoweri Museveni — Kainerugaba’s father. Museveni secured a seventh term in office, a result Wine dismissed as “blatant theft.”
Tensions have remained high since the vote. Last week, Kainerugaba threatened to hunt down and kill Wine, claiming that security forces had killed 30 of Wine’s supporters and arrested 2,000 others since the election.
Wine’s wife has alleged that soldiers assaulted her during a raid on their home last week. Kainerugaba acknowledged ordering the raid but denied that Wine himself was attacked.
Despite the threats, Wine has continued to challenge the authorities. In a social media post on Monday, he mocked the military’s failure to capture him, saying it undermined claims of their strength. He urged his supporters to resist peacefully and remain within the law.
The manhunt for Wine is being led by Kainerugaba, widely seen as Museveni’s likely successor. The army chief has repeatedly insulted Wine online, calling him a coward, a “baboon,” and a “terrorist” — posts he often deletes later.
The escalating war of words between the two men has heightened post-election tensions, with many Ugandans fearing that any move against Wine could spark wider unrest.
