Gen Kainerugaba announces SGR contract cancellation, orders PLU protest at Turkish Embassy

The Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has said that Uganda has cancelled the contract awarded to Turkish construction firm Yapi Merkezi to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

In a series of posts on X, Kainerugaba said the government would seek a new contractor for the multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project.

“We have cancelled the contract with the Turkish company to build the SGR. We will get another one that is more worthy of our country!” he posted.

The remarks mark a sharp escalation in Gen Kainerugaba’s recent criticism of Turkey and Turkish interests.

The latest development also follows an earlier decision to suspend a planned demonstration by supporters of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) at the Turkish Embassy in Kampala.

Responding to Kainerugaba's post, Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda urged him to revive the protest.

“If the Turks are still disturbing you, Afande ffe wetuli. The problem you suspended the demonstration,” Kabanda posted.

Kainerugaba immediately endorsed the proposal.

“PLU should demonstrate on Friday comrade!” he replied.

He later issued a fresh directive regarding the planned protest.

“All Security Services are instructed to leave our supporters/ordinary Ugandans to demonstrate at the Turkish Embassy on Friday 19th June 2026!” Kainerugaba posted.

The announcement appears to reverse his earlier position.

In a previous post, Kainerugaba had indicated that he was still considering his position on Turkey and had suspended the demonstration.

“On Turkey, I have not made my decision yet. I still need to visit the land of my ancestor, Alexander the Great, Greece, and listen to his words first. For now the PLU demonstration at their embassy is suspended,” he wrote.

The contract at the centre of the dispute was signed in October 2024 between the Ugandan government and Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.

The agreement, valued at about $3 billion, covers the construction of the 272-kilometre Malaba-Kampala section of the SGR under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects.

The deal was signed by Works ministry permanent secretary Waiswa Bageya and Yapi Merkezi Holdings vice chairman Erdem Arıoğlu in the presence of Works minister Gen Edward Katumba Wamala and Turkish ambassador Fatih Ak.

Construction of the railway was officially launched by President Yoweri Museveni on November 21, 2024.

Government officials described the SGR as a transformative project that would reduce transport costs, boost regional trade, create more than 150,000 jobs and strengthen links between Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Malaba-Kampala route forms the first phase of Uganda’s planned 1,700-kilometre railway network.

Neither the Ministry of Works and Transport nor Yapi Merkezi had immediately commented on Kainerugaba’s announcement that the contract had been cancelled.