how museveni turned uganda into a one-family state

a public abduction by the president’s son exposes how uganda’s authoritarian drift has become overt and personal.

After nearly four decades in power, President Yoweri Museveni has reshaped Uganda’s political system to entrench personal rule, undermining constitutional checks and positioning his son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as successor in what increasingly resembles a dynastic regime.

Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and son of President Yoweri Museveni, attends a military ceremony alongside his wife, Charlotte Kainerugaba.

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a public confession, no consequences

On April 27, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son and the commander of Uganda’s armed forces, posted a photo of Eddie Mutwe, a longtime bodyguard to opposition leader Bobi Wine, looking dazed and injured. “He’s is in my basement,” the caption read.

In a pair of tweets, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba claimed responsibility for the detention of Eddie Mutwe, an aide to opposition leader Bobi Wine. One tweet showed Mutwe looking disoriented and bruised, with Kainerugaba writing, “He is in my basement. Learning Runyankore.” Runyankore is the language of the Banyankore, Museveni’s ethnic group. Its not only a taunt but a loaded assertion of cultural and political dominance. The posts, widely condemned by human rights groups, signaled an overt display of state-backed intimidation.

Mutwe had disappeared days earlier. Human rights groups were already sounding alarms. Kainerugaba’s tweet was not a denial, but an apparent admission and one delivered with mockery. Follow-up posts taunted Wine and threatened other opposition figures.

No investigation followed. No official statement was issued. Kainerugaba, who holds no legal authority to detain civilians, faced no consequences.