The arrest of Maj Gen Don Nabasa and Brig Johnson Namanya last week on the orders of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has raised more than a few eyebrows within Uganda’s political and security circles.
Gen Nabasa once commanded the Special Forces Command SFC), and during the campaigns for the 2016 general elections, he was the overall commander of the specific SFC unit that protected President Museveni.
Little wonder that after the elections in 2017, Museveni elevated Nabasa to SFC commander, replacing Muhoozi, whom he appointed military advisor on special duties.
Military insiders told Bbeg Media that in many ways, Nabasa was seen as a rising star in the army and an important cog in the country’s security apparatus.
Nabasa commanded the team that assaulted MPs during the heated debate on the removal of the age limit that turned physical. After that, he was left to cool off before resurfacing as commander of the Military Police.
For Brig Namanya, his relationship with Muhoozi goes back to the early 2000s when they were junior officers. Namanya joined the army after a brief stint at Daily Monitor, where he worked as a political journalist. Those who worked with him at the Namuwongo-based newspaper say he was critical of the NRM and Museveni.
In the mid 2000s, he acted like a personal aide to Gen Muhoozi and rarely left his side. He advised him on how to deal with the media.
(UPDATE: Muhoozi has today released Brig Namanya from detention after what the army said was an “amicable and friendly meeting” in which Namanya was cleared of all allegations leveled against him).
Still given that Nabasa and Namanya were part of the inner circle, their arrest on corruption allegations has stirred an uncomfortable question: who is really safe under Gen Muhoozi?
Firm hand
Since taking over as CDF in March 2024, Gen Muhoozi has moved with a speed and firmness that has unsettled both allies and critics.
He has instituted a series of arrests, dismissals, and investigations targeting senior officers across the UPDF.
One of the most talked about cases was that of Maj Gen James Birungi, formerly head of the Chieftancy of Military Intelligence (CMI). Birungi’s arrest last year sent shockwaves through the military establishment.
Birungi was heralded as the person who unlocked Dr. Kizza Besigye’s alleged treasonous scheme to overthrow Museveni in 2024. In fact, he oversaw the operation to arrest Besigye from Kenya and drive him to Uganda. Now he, too, stands accused of treason and has been in military detention for a year.
Birungi’s former deputy, Brig Abdul Rugumayo, was also dropped from the role and sent to headquarters for redeployment, a code for “katebe.”
Other officers, some less publicly known but influential within procurement and logistics, have reportedly been picked up on the orders of Muhoozi.
The Daily Monitor reported that up to 20 officers had been arrested or sacked by Muhoozi over the last two years. The figure could be higher.\
Friend or foe?
Many of Muhoozi’s supporters have taken to social media platforms to laud his actions, which they view as a necessary clean-up.
They claim that corruption within the army has reached worrying levels; therefore, Muhoozi’s actions are an attempt to tighten discipline and send a clear message that abuse of office will no longer be tolerated.
But his critics, especially within the opposition, say Muhoozi is using the arrests of senior officers to consolidate power in a way that leaves little room for dissent.
They say the cases of Maj Gen Nabasa and Brig Namanya illustrate this. Nabasa even stood in for Muhoozi two weeks ago at a dinner in Mbuya to mark the successful Tarehe Sita celebrations.
Muhoozi’s unpredictability has unsettled many within government and outside of it.
Inside government, he has gone after Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the minister of Information, and once threatened to arrest Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire for stepping out of line.
Outside of government, the National Unity Platform (NUP) has repeatedly accused him of being behind the witch hunt of its leaders and supporters.
When Eddie Mutwe went missing last year, Gen Muhoozi bragged that he was in his basement, and indeed, a few days later, Mutwe emerged. He is still incarcerated.
Over the weekend, NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine told a town hall meeting in Washington, where he fled to after the elections, that the US needs to “rein in President Museveni and his son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, for dictatorship and oppression of Ugandans.”
There is the case of Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a Ugandan novelist who fled to Germany in 2021 after he was tortured in a military facility because of his views. In several interviews, Kakwenza alleged that he was mistreated on the orders of Muhoozi.
Some analysts say the issue is not the number of arrests Muhoozi has ordered but the message behind them.
“Muhoozi wants to show the public that rank, history, or personal closeness to him will not work,” said a retired senior police officer who preferred anonymity.
Fear can enforce order; that much is true.
Yet as the first son and someone who has openly said he wants to succeed his father, Muhoozi’s leadership could give us a glimpse into how he might wield power if he became president.
To his supporters like Minister Balaam Barugahara, Muhoozi is decisive, bold, and willing to confront problems that other leaders cannot.
To his critics, like Kakwenza, Muhoozi is unpredictable and heavy-handed.
For some of us watching Gen Muhoozi’s purge from the sidelines, we can say that no one feels comfortable with the CDF at the moment.
Whether you are his friend or foe, you have to constantly look over your shoulder and ask: Could I be next?
