Rwandan government condemns Gen Muhoozi ‘ethnic extremist’ posts

The Rwandan government has condemned ethnic references used by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in posts about businessman Odrek Rwabwogo and President Paul Kagame.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Kigali did not agree with the “ethnic extremism” expressed in the posts.

She was responding to Ugandan lawyer Counsel Ivan Mwijukye, who had questioned whether Rwandans were comfortable with Gen Kainerugaba invoking Hutu and Tutsi identities.

“We saw that post and the questions it raised, and we do not agree with the ethnic extremism expressed,” Ms Makolo said on August 31, 2026.

She said people were free to hold opinions about Rwanda but should not misrepresent Rwandans or associate the country with ethnic thinking.

“If the post was about Uganda, it should be kept Ugandan and not drag us into it,” she said.

Ms Makolo added that Rwanda had spent the past 32 years rebuilding unity after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

“Rwanda does not subscribe to ethnic extremism. We have worked hard to leave this behind us. We do not need it and do not want it,” she said.

“Our national vision and efforts in the last 32 years have been about uniting Rwandans, and we will continue to safeguard this fundamental political choice.”

The response followed several posts by Gen Kainerugaba during his public dispute with Mr Rwabwogo, who chairs the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development.

On August 28, Gen Kainerugaba questioned Mr Rwabwogo’s ethnic identity.

“I doubt that Odrek is a Muhima. He doesn’t behave like one. He might be a Muhutu,” he wrote.

Gen Kainerugaba has accused Mr Rwabwogo of corruption and threatened to arrest him. He has also said he does not recognise him as a brother-in-law, despite Mr Rwabwogo’s marriage to his sister, Patience Museveni Rwabwogo.

The claims against Mr Rwabwogo have not been proven in court. Mr Rwabwogo and PACEID have rejected allegations of corruption and operating outside government structures.

Gen Kainerugaba later brought President Kagame into the ethnic discussion.

“The most dangerous Mututsi I have ever met in life is President Kagame. When he laughs a lot, know that you are already dead,” he posted.

Mr Mwijukye questioned why Gen Kainerugaba had reduced a Ugandan family and political dispute to ethnic identities associated with Rwanda.

He argued that the posts contradicted Gen Kainerugaba’s Pan-African message and risked reopening wounds in a country that has spent decades discouraging ethnic politics.

The lawyer also questioned whether references to Hutu and Tutsi identities could be treated as harmless political banter after Rwanda’s experience of genocide.

“Uganda and Rwanda share history, borders, families, security interests and a common regional future,” he wrote. “Our politics should build bridges, not reopen wounds.”

Makolo’s response is a rare public rebuke from Kigali against Gen Kainerugaba, who has often described President Kagame as his uncle and maintained close ties with Rwanda’s leadership.

Neither Gen Kainerugaba nor the Ugandan government had responded to Ms Makolo’s comments by the time of publication.