Uganda’s military chief has drawn ire from Turkey over statements he made demanding a Turkish bride and threatening to sever diplomatic ties with Ankara.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has been in the headlines for several statements in recent weeks, including on sending troops to defend Israel, and most recently, his remarks against Turkey, whose ties with Israel have rapidly deteriorated in recent years.
Although the military chief maintains that his views expressed on the social media platform do not necessarily reflect those of the state, analysts frequently interpret the comments as a signal of government policy. Who is Kainerugaba? A senior military officer who rapidly rose through the ranks, Kainerugaba has frequently drawn international attention for provocative comments on social media, including remarks on regional security, foreign policy and opposition figures.
His posts have repeatedly sparked diplomatic friction and domestic controversy.
He is the son of long-serving President Yoweri Museveni and has served as Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces since March 2024. What did he say about Turkey? Kainerugaba issued an ultimatum to Ankara in a series of X posts on Saturday, demanding a $1 billion "security dividend" as he argued that Ugandan troops were deployed in Somalia to help fight the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab organisation.
He said that while Turkey benefitted economically from Somalia’s infrastructure, Uganda bore the human cost of its mission.
Turkey and other countries back Mogadishu in its decades-long war against Al-Shabaab’s insurgency.
Kainerugaba doubled down with misogyny, demanding the "most beautiful woman" in Turkey as his wife, and suggested Turkey to "surrender the wives" to maintain peace.
The military chief warned that his country could cut ties with Ankara in 30 days, close its embassy in Kampala, and ban Turkish Airlines from using Ugandan airspace if these demands were not met.
These posts on X were later deleted on Sunday, but the damage had already been done.
Omer Celik, spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party, responded directly to Kainerugaba’s statements.
"Turkey has no problem with Uganda," Celik said. "We know that this person has made similarly baseless statements about other countries. That statement is wrong and must be corrected. We hope he speaks more carefully from now on." '100,000 fighters to Israel' Kainerugaba has come out in Israel’s defence recently amid the US-Israel war on Iran , currently on hold during a fragile ceasefire which has seen Tehran and Washington hold talks.
In late March, he expressed solidarity with Israel in a barrage of posts on X, suggesting the East African country could join the war "on the side of Israel".
In a post he also deleted, Kainerugaba said his armed forces could get directly involved in the war while making light of Iran’s military capabilities.
On Friday, he wrote on X : "I'm ready to deploy 100,000 Ugandan soldiers in Israel. Under my command. To protect the Holy Land. The land of Jesus Christ our God!"
Uganda and Israel established formal diplomatic relations in 1962.