Uganda's military commander is threatening to expel the top US diplomat assigned to the central African country following a diplomatic spat.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba gave US Ambassador William Popp an ultimatum to apologize by Monday morning or leave the country. According to reports.
Military leaders have not said exactly what crime Ambassador Pop committed. An embassy official told local media. This outburst took them completely by surprise.
General Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, made this request earlier this week on However, there is no mention of Mr. Pop's actions.
After the tweet was deleted, the general wrote: “My fellow Ugandans.” According to the East African newspaper. “It is my solemn duty to announce to you that we as a nation are seriously confronting the current American Ambassador to the United States for disrespecting our beloved and distinguished President and undermining the Constitution of Uganda. ”
Mr. Kainerugaba continued, “Unless the current U.S. ambassador apologizes to Mr. Mzee.'' [sic] We will personally request that he leave Uganda by Monday morning (9am) for his undiplomatic actions in our country. ”
The presidential scion added: “We have no problems with the US,” but added: “Recently we have a lot of evidence that they are hostile to the NRM government.”
It is unclear what activities are alleged against the pop ambassador or if the two had a dispute of a personal nature.
An embassy official told The East African that they were captured without their knowledge and “we are trying to analyze the situation.”
“Our nearly $1 billion supports local institutions and organizations every day to improve health education and prosperity for millions of Ugandans,” the embassy statement said. the read given to that outlet. “The embassy, the ambassador, and the U.S. government continue to work directly and normally with Ugandan authorities on a daily basis on a full range of issues.”
Sewayana Livingstone, director of the Uganda Human Rights Initiative NGO Foundation, said Kainerugaba needed to stay in their lane.
“He needs to calm down,” Livingston told VOA News. I think Ugandans should call him and order. It's already high time. ”
The four-star general appears to have deleted some of X's controversial posts, but he also continues to repost news articles detailing current controversies.
Kainerugaba has a very active presence on social media. He has over 10,000 posts and nearly 1 million followers on X.
At home, Keinergaba has faced criticism Although he criticizes this excessive internet presence, he defends himself when he writes, “If you don't comment on sociopolitical and economic issues, you're not doing your job.'' What I post is completely professional,” he added. everytime. ”
The U.S. Embassy in Uganda had not responded to a request for comment as of this article's publication, and had not issued a public statement about the altercation on any social platform.
