Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba — son of President Yoweri Museveni — issued a bizarre ultimatum to Turkey on Sunday. Posting on X, he demanded “On top of the $1 billion from Turkey, I want the most beautiful woman in that country for a wife.” He said he would sever diplomatic ties with Turkey if his terms were not met within 30 days.
“The real problem is Turkey! We have waited for them to rehabilitate themselves, but wapi! We are going to end ALL diplomatic relations with Turkey in the next 30 days,” he wrote, adding in a separate post: “We shall block their Airlines too!” The posts were deleted after intense backlash.
In a series of recent posts, the general accused Turkey of profiting from infrastructure and port deals in Somalia while Ugandan troops spent nearly two decades fighting Al-Shabab militants and providing security for African Union missions. He said Turkish involvement in Mogadishu port and airport projects had yielded hundreds of millions of dollars while Uganda supplied the military contribution.
Kainerugaba commands the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Special Operations Command and is known for provocative social media remarks and outspoken support for Israel. After the conflict in March, he said Uganda would intervene on Israel’s side, declaring he was “ready to deploy 100,000 Ugandan soldiers in Israel. Under my command. To protect the Holy Land. The land of Jesus Christ our God!”
He framed the $1 billion request as a security dividend for Uganda’s military contributions to African Union missions. Kainerugaba has a history of bizarre and sexist online threats: in 2022 he offered 100 Ankole cows to marry Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and threatened to “capture Rome” if rejected, and he also claimed his army could capture Nairobi in less than two weeks. Those comments prompted President Museveni to issue a formal apology to Kenya and temporarily suspend his son.
