Uganda Gives US Ambassador 48 Hours To Apologize Or Forced Out Of The Country
On Friday, October 4, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Uganda’s long-serving President Yoweri Museveni and Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), expressed his frustration with U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, William W. Popp, in a series of posts on X.
His remarks were in response to US sanctions imposed on senior Ugandan police officers over allegations of human rights violations.
Muhoozi accused the American envoy of undermining President Museveni’s government in the aftermath of US sanctions imposed on four Uganda Police Force (UPF) officers.
Fellow Ugandans, it is my solemn duty to announce to you all that we as a nation are about to have a serious confrontation with the current US Ambassador to our country. For disrespecting our beloved and celebrated President and for undermining the constitution of Uganda.
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 4, 2024
“Fellow Ugandans, it is my solemn duty to announce to you all that we as a nation are about to have a serious confrontation with the current US Ambassador to our country. For disrespecting our beloved and celebrated President and for undermining the constitution of Uganda,” Muhoozi wrote on X on Friday morning.
The officers were identified by the Department of State as having committed gross human rights violations such as torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, the US Department of State announced travel sanctions against four UPF officers.
They are: Bob Kagarura, then-Wamala Regional Police Commander; Alex Mwine, then-District Police Commander for the Mitanya District; Elly Womanya, then-Senior Commissioner and Deputy Director of the UPF’s Criminal Investigations Division in charge of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU); and Hamdani Twesigye, then-Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to the SIU.
The sanctions, which also affect their immediate family members, make them generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
We are designating four Uganda Police Force officials – Bob Kagarura, Alex Mwine, Elly Womanya, and Hamdani Twesigye – for gross violations of human rights. Ugandans deserve accountability and justice for all perpetrators of human rights violations.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) October 3, 2024
“The Department of State is taking action today to promote accountability for human rights violations committed in Uganda by designating four members of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) due to their involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,” the Department of State said in a statement.
Muhoozi, enraged by the sanctions, vented his frustrations on Ambassador Popp and escalated the situation throughout the day.
“It is not only General MK. It is President Museveni, the government, and the people of Uganda too,” he wrote in another post.
It is not only General MK. It is President Museveni, the government and the people of Uganda too. This is not a personal issue between me and the current US Ambassador, this is a national issue and you'll see that NO foreign country will ever dominate Uganda again! https://t.co/8QIT7Rdme2
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 4, 2024
“This is not a personal issue between me and the current US Ambassador, this is a national issue and you’ll see that NO foreign country will ever dominate Uganda again!”
Muhoozi also demanded a personal apology from the United States ambassador to his father, President Museveni.
If no apology was received by Monday morning, Muhoozi threatened to expel Ambassador Popp from Uganda.
If this current US Ambassador does not apologize to Mzee personally by Monday morning (9.00am) for his undiplomatic behaviour in our country we will demand he leaves Uganda. We have no problem with the USA, as I have said many times it is a country we love and admire. But lately…
— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) October 4, 2024
“If this current US Ambassador does not apologize to Mzee personally by Monday morning (9.00am) for his undiplomatic behaviour in our country we will demand he leaves Uganda,” he asserted.
“We have no problem with the USA, as I have said many times it is a country we love and admire. But lately we have a lot of evidence that they have been working against the NRM government.”
The US sanctions are based on allegations of human rights violations related to the mistreatment of opposition MP Francis Zaake in the run-up to Uganda’s 2021 general elections.
The US Department of State emphasized that the evidence of the officers’ involvement, as provided by Ugandan civil courts, civil society organizations, and independent journalists, was serious and credible.
The sanctions imposed on Kagarura, Mwine, Womanya, and Twesigye are part of the US government’s larger efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations in Uganda.
These actions follow similar sanctions imposed on other Ugandan officials, including senior officers of the UPDF and Uganda Prisons Service, over allegations of human rights violations and economic crimes.
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In a separate statement, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated that the sanctions strengthen the US commitment to advancing human rights in Uganda.
“By publicly designating these individuals, the United States reaffirms its commitment to advancing the human rights of all Ugandans and promoting accountability for those responsible for human rights violations,” Miller said.
This latest round of sanctions adds to a growing list of Ugandan government officials targeted by the US for alleged human rights violations.
Notable figures who have previously been sanctioned include former Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura, Maj-Gen Abel Kanduho, former head of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, and Uganda Prisons Service Commissioner-General Johnson Byabashaija.
Uganda Gives US Ambassador 48 Hours To Apologize Or Forced Out Of The Country
