Muhoozi now bets on father’s blessings to go for presidency

Bureau chief based in Kampala

Nation Media Group

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has often presented himself as the next possible successor of his father, Yoweri Museveni. But now he says that is only possible if the “old man” acquiesces to that quest.

This is in spite of an aggressive grassroots campaign led by President Museveni’s younger brother, Toyota Kaguta, for a 2026 presidential bid for the Uganda’s Presidential Adviser on Special Operations.

Whether the birthday celebrations will reignite a new momentum for political agitation is another issue. His new spokesperson Andrew Mwenda says theirs is a movement, competing with nobody or any political force, but articulating the ideals of young people who feel “disenchanted, disconnected from the body politic of Uganda” because the government is not serving their interests. He says General Muhoozi supporters are young people who are looking for an alternative, insisting that theirs is not about gaining power. He says they are different from other players such as National Unity Platform leader and former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, or Kizza Besigye, and are focusing on creating reforms in the ruling party to ensure the party can be led by tired, old and weak, can deliver on infrastructure and jobs the young people are yearning for.