Muhoozi deactivates X account after attacks on VP Jessica Alupo

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, appeared to have deactivated his X account hours after he urged Vice President Jessica Alupo to prepare to hand over office and suggested he should replace her.

The @mkainerugaba profile by Tuesday morning displayed an “account doesn’t exist” notice, which typically indicates owner deactivation rather than an X suspension.

Shortly before the account vanished, Muhoozi raised the prospect of taking over as vice president in a series of posts on the evening of November 9, 2026. 

“Whoever is in that office should prepare to hand it over soon,” he wrote. 

The general also said he would run the government “on military terms” if he became vice president, promising to end what he called inefficiency.

In another post, the army chief accused Alupo of backing former prime minister Amama Mbabazi when he challenged President Yoweri Museveni in the 2016 election. 

The remarks followed an earlier post in which Muhoozi referred Jessica who, he said, had been “warming my seat for long enough”. He suggested it was time for her to leave, without identifying the office. His November 9 posts named the vice presidency. 

Alupo, a retired army major, has served as vice president since 2021. 

Article 108 of Uganda’s Constitution gives the president the power to appoint a vice president with the approval of Parliament by a simple majority. If the office falls vacant, the president has up to 14 days to appoint a replacement with Parliament’s approval

The posts also followed conflicting remarks from Kainerugaba about his military role. Earlier in November, he said he was preparing to leave as Chief of Defence Forces. He later said he would stay in the job for at least another year. 

Kainerugaba has stepped away from X before. On January 10, 2025, he announced that he was leaving to focus on his military duties. He returned six days later with a short message, “I’m back!” He also quit the platform in 2022 and returned days later.