Gen Muhoozi Apologises to U.S. Over Uganda–US Military Cooperation Remarks

KAMPALA — Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has apologised to the United States and formally walked back earlier social media remarks that had cast doubt on ongoing military cooperation between Kampala and Washington.

In a statement posted on X on Friday morning, Gen. Kainerugaba said he had deleted his earlier posts after establishing that the information he relied on was inaccurate.

He added that he had since spoken directly with the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda and confirmed that relations remain intact.

“I want to apologise to our great friends the United States for my earlier tweets that I have now deleted,” Kainerugaba wrote.

“I was being fed with wrong information. I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country and everything is okay. We are going to continue our military cooperation as usual.”

The apology followed a series of posts in which the CDF had accused the current administration at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala of undermining security cooperation and alleged — without presenting evidence — that an opposition leader’s disappearance had been coordinated with the embassy.

He had further stated that the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces would suspend all cooperation with the U.S. mission, including joint activities linked to Uganda’s operations in Somalia.

Those remarks triggered widespread attention because of Uganda’s central role as a regional security partner of the United States, particularly in counterterrorism and peace support operations.

Header advertisement

Uganda remains one of the largest troop contributors to the African Union mission in Somalia, where U.S. support has been critical in logistics, training and intelligence coordination.

By publicly retracting the statements, Gen. Kainerugaba moved to reassure both domestic and international partners that Uganda’s defence and security posture remains unchanged.

His clarification underscores the continuity of long-standing military cooperation between Kampala and Washington, which Ugandan officials have repeatedly described as strategic and mutually beneficial.

Neither the United States Embassy in Kampala nor the Ministry of Defence had issued a formal statement by the time of publication, but the CDF’s apology is expected to ease diplomatic and security concerns raised by the earlier comments.