Uganda government has deployed commandos to save South Sudan President

KAMPALA, Uganda

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) and first son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba in the wee hours of Tuesday revealed on his X (formerly Twitter) handle that Ugandan troops are in South Sudan to protect President Salva Kiir and secure the capital, Juba.

Shortly before the disclosure to secure Juba, he wrote that the UPDF recognizes only Salva Kiir as the president of South Sudan and that any move against him is akin to a declaration of war against Uganda.

“We the UPDF, only recognize ONE President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir, he is our ‘Afande’ even in UPDF because he is the younger brother of Mzee [Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni]! Any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda! All those who commit that crime will learn what it means!” he wrote.

“As of 2 days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” Gen. Kainerugaba added.

He polished off with: “We shall protect the entire territory of South Sudan like it was our own. That is the will of the Commander-in-Chief!”

Known for his outbursts and controversial late-night and early-morning posts on X, the Ugandan president’s son has in the past often riled neighboring countries and created uncomfortable diplomatic spats from which Ugandan officials have distanced themselves.

In a controversial post in December last year, Gen. Kainerugaba said, “I’m going to give only ONE WARNING to ALL white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. From 2nd January 2025, we will attack all mercenaries in our area of operations.”

He added: “In the name of Jesus Christ, the God of all Bachwezi, there shall not be left one white mercenary in DRC this time next year!”

The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reacted by summoning Uganda’s Acting Chargé d’Affaires in Kinsasha, Matata Twaha Magara, to seek clarification on the Uganda government’s official position on the matter.

Relatedly, on 18 December 2024, Sudan demanded an official apology from the Government of Ugandan for what it referred to as the offensive and dangerous comments published by the Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces on the X platform in which he threatened to seize Khartoum as soon as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

In a statement issued by its foreign ministry, Sudan also called on the African Union and regional and international organizations to condemn these statements, and what they entail in terms of a clear threat to regional and international security and an insult to Africans.

Gen. Kainerugaba’s controversial post on X was deleted, like many others

According to the statement, the Sudanese foreign ministry considered the Ugandan army chief’s comments reckless, and irresponsible and said “They represent a complete departure from the rules of conduct of those occupying senior official and military positions, including prudence, discipline, and choice of words.”

“These comments embody an abnormal precedent and a regrettable level of disregard for international law, the norms of dealing between states, and the requirements of mutual respect between brotherly and friendly peoples,” the statement read in part. “The threat of war, the violation of the sovereignty of states, and the challenge to the Charter of the United Nations, the African Union, and the rules of international law are too dangerous to be a subject of trivialization, seeking the spotlight, and astonishment.”

Before that, Gen. Kaineruga threatened to invade Kenya and capture Nairobi within a few days. His father, President Museveni would later apologize to Kenya.

The Ugandan Army Chief is no stranger to South Sudan and was severally in the country when the UPDF intervened after the war erupted in December 2013.

At the time, the Ugandan foreign ministry said the UPDF came in to protect Juba International Airport and to ensure the evacuation of Ugandans and other nationals.

However, the UPDF soon took on a larger mandate, including fighting rebels on the Juba-Bor Road and recapturing Bor Town between late December 2013 and early January 2014. Observers blamed the Ugandans for using cluster bombs against the rebels.