PLU takes on former minister Tarsis Kabwegyere for critiquing Muhoozi 'unlawful' acts

The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has hit back at veteran politician Prof Tarsis Kabwegyere after he criticised the group and questioned Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba's recent comments on alcohol consumption.

Kabwegyere, a former Cabinet minister, legislator and academic, described PLU's activities as “wrong and unlawful” while appearing on BFM Radio in Bushenyi.

He also criticised Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces and PLU chairman, for saying Ugandans should be free to drink and dance until morning.

“The acts of PLU are wrong and unlawful. How could a leader make such comments encouraging people to drink?” Kabwegyere said.

“Uganda today has the highest alcohol consumption per capita in the whole of Africa and we are fifth in the world. Now here comes a person who wants to be president and he is encouraging people to drink more. Where are you leading the people? Where are you taking the nation?”

Kabwegyere's comments drew a response from Daudi Kabanda, the head of the PLU Chairman's Office.

Kabanda linked the former minister's criticism to Odrek Rwabwogo, President Yoweri Museveni's son-in-law, who has recently been at the centre of political exchanges involving some PLU leaders.

“Prof. Kabwegyere is a known ally of Rwaboogo, everyone knows that. His statements today on BFM Bushenyi against PLU do not surprise us,” Kabanda said.

“We shall get time to respond to him appropriately. But at 80 years, what tangible achievements in Bushenyi can be attributed to him?”

Kabwegyere, 85, is one of Uganda's long-serving politicians and academics. Born in Bushenyi District in 1941, he studied sociology at Makerere University, where he later headed the sociology department.

He served as minister for Lands and Natural Resources after the fall of Idi Amin in 1979. He later served as State Minister for Foreign Affairs and director of external relations at the National Resistance Movement secretariat.

Kabwegyere also represented Igara County West in Parliament between 1996 and 2011. He also served as minister for Disaster Preparedness, before he was dropped from Cabinet in 2011.

His latest clash with PLU follows Kainerugaba's intervention in a debate over restrictions on Uganda's nightlife.

On August 31, 2026, Kainerugaba said bar and nightclub owners should decide when to open and close their businesses.

“Opening and closing hours for bars and clubs is up to the proprietors. What we will not tolerate is any form of fighting and violence. Otherwise, Ugandans are entitled to enjoy themselves,” Kainerugaba wrote on X.

He followed this with another message declaring: “In Uganda, people can dance and drink up to morning. Also, women are allowed to dress anyway they want.”

The comments effectively challenged an earlier directive by Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara, who had ordered bars and other alcohol outlets not to open before 3pm on working days.

Kabwegyere's concern about Uganda's alcohol consumption comes against a documented history of high consumption, although his specific claim that Uganda is currently fifth in the world could not be independently verified.

World Health Organisation data previously placed Uganda among Africa's heaviest alcohol-consuming countries. WHO figures put consumption at 12.48 litres of pure alcohol per adult, the highest recorded in its African region that year.

The WHO has also warned that harmful alcohol consumption carries major health, social and economic costs in Uganda.