The Special Presidential Adviser on Defence and Security, Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, aka Salim Saleh (L) has promised to deal with the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, after a series of complaints from European Union (EU) diplomats that the CDF’s social media threats are eroding Uganda’s international standing and bilateral relations.
Speaking during a high-level meeting with EU ambassadors at his residence in Gulu City on Wednesday, Gen Saleh, who is also the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation, acknowledged the gravity of the CDF’s remarks, particularly those targeting opposition figures and foreign diplomats.
“I want to assure you, we shall manage that one for you. We shall get him on board and sort it out if he has offended you,” Gen Saleh told the envoys, while making indirect references to the General’s upbringing and unique path in the UPDF hierarchy.
The EU delegation, led by Ambassador Jan Sadek, expressed concern over recent posts by Gen Muhoozi in which he threatened to arrest them for meeting leaders of the National Unity Platform (NUP) political party in Kampala last week.
“He threatened to take us to his base,” Ambassador Sadek told the meeting. “I think it has created some security issues. While we do not expect the UPDF to come and kick us out, we’re concerned about what his followers may take into their own hands.
The diplomats also pointed to Gen Muhoozi’s posts implying that NUP official Edward ‘Eddie Mutwe’ Ssebuufu had been tortured in a “basement,” a claim which sparked alarm both locally and abroad.
“There is also the aspect of brutality against the Opposition, then it is the threats against us,” Sadek added.
In his response, Gen Saleh acknowledged the CDF’s controversial style, stating: “The CDF, that guy is a funny man because he is the only CDF who didn’t come from Uganda Army, UNLA, or NRA, he’s a product of the UPDF, which came after 1995. So those guys are crazy; they’ve got their own ways. They are educated, well-trained, and I don’t know what he is sometimes.”
He went on: “He even attacked the Human Rights Commission, but it is not a big issue really, because for him, he is outside us.”
Gen Saleh, who is President Museveni’s brother and Gen Muhoozi’s uncle, stopped short of condemning the CDF’s statements outright but asked the envoys to assess the general “as a character” rather than interpreting his words as state policy.
“You are studying him as a character. Some time back, people used to argue that you shouldn’t have educated soldiers in the army. Now the entire top command has degrees, master’s, and PhDs. I think they have some problems in their heads,” Saleh said.
However, tensions flared during the meeting when veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda, introduced as Gen Muhoozi’s special spokesperson, accused the ambassadors of meddling in Uganda’s internal affairs and misunderstanding its sociopolitical affairs.
“To assume that how institutions work in your countries is how they should work here is a big assumption. This country is structurally and culturally different,” Mwenda said.
Mwenda further alleged that NUP was planning an insurrection rather than an electoral challenge. “They send people to Kenya and Congo. They train military drills. Mistakes are happening, yes, but where we encounter the problem is when you assume your values are universal and superior,” he said.
The diplomatic standoff was eventually calmed by Dr David Pulkol, a senior advisor in Saleh’s office, who emphasized the need for “mutual respect and mutual support.”
“It’s not too much to ask of anybody that let’s respect each other. Secondly, let’s support each other to make it,” said Dr Pulkol, a former head of the External Security Organisation.
Among the diplomats present were Simone Knapp (Austria), Hughes Chantry (Belgium), Signe Winding Albjerg (Denmark), Xavier Sticker (France), Mathias Schauer (Germany), Frederieke Quispel (Netherlands), Maria Hakansson (Sweden), and Jill Clements (Deputy Ambassador, Ireland).
The ambassadors are in Gulu City for a three-day working visit aimed at assessing development and stability in northern Uganda, which continues to grapple with post-war recovery. Discussions at the meeting also included economic cooperation, youth empowerment, and safeguarding the integrity of Uganda’s 2026 General Election.
