• Gen Salim Saleh has assured a delegation of EU diplomats that the UPDF will take steps to control Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba following social media threats directed at European officials. 
  • The meeting, held in Gulu, addressed growing unease about the CDF’s personal conduct and its potential impact on Uganda’s international relations. 

In a meeting with European Union envoys, Gen Salim Saleh, a senior Presidential advisor and President Museveni’s brother, promised that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) would take measures to manage the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, over his controversial social media behavior.

The meeting at Saleh’s residence in Gulu came in response to diplomatic concerns following a series of threatening social media posts by Gen Muhoozi. On May 15, Muhoozi reacted strongly to a visit by EU diplomats to the National Unity Platform (NUP) offices, posting:

“This is an Abomination! @EUinUG is really playing with fire. Sawa!”

We have MARKED all of them especially the one shaking Kabobi’s hand,” he said in another post.

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European Union Ambassador Jan Sadek told Gen Saleh that the post had caused discomfort within the diplomatic community, raising fears for their personal security.

“He threatened to take us to his base… we don’t know what his followers may take into their own hands,” Ambassador Sadek noted.

Saleh, speaking with a mix of humor and concern, attempted to downplay the gravity while also offering assurances.

“The CDF, that guy is a funny man… He is the only CDF who didn’t come from the Uganda Army, UNLA, or NRA—he is a product of the UPDF, created after 1995,” Saleh explained.

“He’s a Gen Z. We shall manage him for you… he even attacked the Human Rights Commission. But it is not a big issue, really.”

Saleh further urged the envoys to treat Gen Muhoozi’s views as personal opinions, not representative of the Ugandan government’s position.

“You are studying him as a character,” he said. “Now almost the entire top command has degrees, masters, PhDs… I think they have some problems in their heads.”

The European delegation reportedly cautioned that such behavior from senior military leaders could damage Uganda’s global standing and hinder foreign investment and trade.