Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and head of the country’s military, recently ignited controversy with a tweet in which he threatened to behead the nation’s leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine.
Kainerugaba claimed his father, whom he referred to as Mzee – a Swahili term of respect for an elder, was the only reason Wine remained unharmed, adding that he would have cut off Wine’s head already.
Though Kainerugaba has since apologised, dismissing the comment as a joke and claiming it was meant to be ironic, the remark has drawn widespread condemnation. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, responded via Twitter that he could not take such threats lightly.
Alleging that Kainerugaba, who also heads Uganda’s military, and his father had killed many already, Wine tweeted that the threat by the president’s son to behead him was not something he takes lightly.
The Ugandan government was quick to downplay the incident, with a spokesperson describing Kainerugaba’s social media posts as casual remarks that should not be interpreted as reflecting official policy.
