Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba./FILEUganda’s military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has announced plans to
visit Kenya in the coming months, reaffirming the strong ties between the two
East African neighbours.
General
Muhoozi said he is ready to make amends for past mistakes, even offering
traditional compensation.
In a statement on X, Muhoozi said that the visit will be to meet his “big brother,” President William Ruto, highlighting the personal rapport between the two leaders.
“In the next few months I am going to visit my big brother, H.E. Ruto. If I made mistakes in the past, I am ready to pay cows for my errors. The brotherly relationship between Uganda and Kenya can never be broken,” he said.
Kenya and Uganda have historically maintained
close political, economic, and security relations.
In 2022, Muhoozi drew widespread attention after tweeting that it would take Ugandan troops less than two weeks to capture Nairobi.
The move prompted Uganda’s Foreign Ministry to issue a formal apology and distance the government from his statements.
“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted, though he later retracted the statement.
General Muhoozi is well known for remarks about Kenya that have occasionally sparked public reaction and controversy.
In July 2025, Muhoozi caused mixed reactions when he weighed in on the concluded Haiti peacekeeping mission, asserting that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) would achieve results in just two months if deployed.
Speaking through his official social media account, Muhoozi expressed scepticism over the progress made by Kenyan forces leading the UN-backed multinational security mission in the Caribbean nation.
The general claimed the Kenyan police have not achieved tangible progress despite being on the ground for months.
He termed the situation as “expected” and offered Uganda’s readiness to step in.
“It would take us 1 month to capture Port-au-Prince. The Kenyans have failed after nearly 2 years…that’s what we expected. The UN is welcome to offer us favourable terms,” he stated.
“Give UPDF 2 months with the gangsters in Port-au-Prince and see what happens.”
In a separate post, Muhoozi struck a warning to Haitian gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, commonly known as Barbecue, that if Uganda is deployed to Haiti, he would be his direct target.
He stated that Barbecue should run, declaring he would not survive the encounter.
“I only have one piece of advice if Mzee deploys us to Haiti. Barbecue, I’m coming for you! Run! And you won’t survive me. My name is ‘Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Mwene Museveni, Rutagumirwa, Omusiita!” he affirmed.
