Kampala, Uganda: The escalating verbal exchange between Uganda’s First Son and Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has taken a sharper ethnic dimension following Kyagulanyi’s recent appeal to elders from Kigezi and Ankole to tame the President’s son.
On Tuesday, May 6, Kyagulanyi wrote to elders from the western sub-regions of Kigezi and Ankole, accusing them of enabling what he described as “Muhoozi’s dangerous and tribalised militarism.”
In the letter, a copy of which DailyExpress saw, Kyagulanyi questioned the silence of Banyankore and Bakiga opinion leaders in the face of what he termed as a deliberate use of state violence and ethnic-based military dominance.
But in a sharp rejoinder on Friday morning, Gen Muhoozi took to X (formerly Twitter), launching a blistering personal attack against Kyagulanyi, allegedly responding to his letter to the Western elders.
“Kabobi in his usual shallowness and stupidity, tries to tribalize every beating he gets from us. You have to excuse him. He is not the brightest guy. The guy got a diploma in Music, Dance and Drama,” Gen Muhoozi, who recently turned 51, posted.
He added: “I personally love Baganda very much! Baganda and Banyankore are probably the closest people in the world.”
Muhoozi’s comments have sparked renewed controversy on social media, with critics accusing him of using offensive and condescending language unbecoming of a top military leader. Others, however, hailed his statement as a bold response to what they see as Kyagulanyi’s persistent “ethnic incitement.”
This is not the first time the two leaders have clashed publicly. Their long-standing rivalry, rooted in contrasting political ideologies and generational outlooks, has increasingly veered into ethnic fault lines, with both camps accusing the other of sowing tribal division among the populace.
While Bobi Wine accuses the ruling NRM regime of institutionalising ethnic favouritism and militarism, Gen Muhoozi and his supporters often dismiss the NUP leader as an opportunistic populist with no grasp of national security or statecraft.
The NUP leader was yet to respond to the UPDF chief at the time this story was filed and published.
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