Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and president Museveni’s son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has escalated his online feud with Kenyan journalist and CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo, claiming he has blocked him on social media for being a “betrayer” East Africa.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Muhoozi said his decision to block Madowo was deliberate and rooted in what he described as disloyalty to the region.
“I blocked @LarryMadowo for one simple reason. It’s best said in Kiswahili. He is a true Msaliti,” Muhoozi wrote.
The drama began just days after Uganda elected Museveni to a seventh consecutive term in office in an election marred by allegations of rigging, with the president clinching victory with about 71% of the votes.
This came after Larry quoted Muhoozi’s controversial tweet, in which the general threatened to ‘remove and extinguish’ Uganda’s opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), following his father’s victory in the recent elections.
Muhoozi had written: “I, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, am a prophet of the Almighty God. I told you mzee would win by the biggest percentage since 1996 and it happened. Now, I tell you that NUP will be removed and extinguished from our land like a bad dream.”
Larry, reporting on the post, tweeted: “Muhoozi promises to ‘remove and extinguish’ Bobi Wine’s party after his father’s victory.”
The situation escalated when Muhoozi posted a series of further tweets threatening to kill NUP’s party leader, Bobi Wine, whose supporters he labelled as ‘terrorists.’
Larry again quoted the messages on his page, adding: “The son of Uganda’s president is threatening to kill his father’s main challenger (who is in hiding).”
Muhoozi soon addressed Larry directly, firing a tweet that included profanities and accused the CNN journalist of being compromised in his reporting.
Larry initially asked his followers whether he should respond, before eventually confronting the general in a direct message: “Muhoozi, why are you bragging about killing Ugandans who support the opposition? Is it because you’re protected by your father, President Museveni?”
In response, Muhoozi lashed out at the Kenyan journalist with a series of personal and inflammatory remarks.
“I have found that some Kenyans like to talk a lot but run the fastest when kibokos start,” Muhoozi wrote, using a Swahili term commonly associated with corporal punishment.
He escalated the attack by accusing Madowo of serving Western interests rather than representing African voices.
“Why don’t you call me my name, Larry? How long will you kiss the Muzungu’s ASS in the USA pretending to represent us?” Muhoozi added.
Madowo has been at the centre of attention covering East African election, most recently Tanzania and now Uganda.
