Gen Kainerugaba gives Otafiire 1 week to apologise

The Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has threatened Maj Gen (Rtd) Kahinda Otafiire with unspecified consequences unless he apologises within a week over remarks made in Parliament.

The warning follows Otafiire’s appeal for political tolerance and his criticism of generals who use violence to resolve disagreements. However, Otafiire did not name Gen Kainerugaba in his address.

“I hear my junior MG.Otafiire made some statements in parliament against me. I’m giving him exactly 1 week to apologise to me or else he will see,” Kainerugaba posted.

Otafiire, the minister of Water and Environment, addressed Parliament on September 30, 2026. He urged leaders to settle disagreements peacefully and respect different political views.

“When you see a general who prefers violence as the best means of solving problems, then there is a problem,” Otafiire told MPs.

He argued that effective generals prevent confrontation by understanding their adversaries and addressing the causes of conflict. Disagreement, he said, was inevitable. The challenge lay in how leaders resolved it.

Otafiire also urged the ruling National Resistance Movement to listen to the opposition. He described opposition politicians as a mirror through which the party could assess itself, adding that those who lose elections retain the right to be heard.

The exchange adds to longstanding differences between the two generals over Gen Kainerugaba’s presidential ambitions. In February, Otafiire publicly rejected the prospect of Gen Kainerugaba becoming president, while distinguishing his political position from his personal regard for President Yoweri Museveni’s son.