A fiery tweeter who is in charge of Uganda’s military, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba is decried by his critics as being in the middle of an unholy trinity, or alliance, of three men who rule the East African nation with an iron fist. Kainerugaba, the son of the country’s long-time leader Yoweri Museveni, has posted on social platform X about the killing of opposition supporters during this month’s fiercely contested presidential election. In posts which were subsequently deleted, he also threatened to have the testicles of defeated opposition candidate Bobi Wine removed.
With the 81-year-old president winning a seventh term, analysts say this is likely to be his last term and he is grooming his 51-year-son to succeed him. The so-called “unholy alliance” – a play on the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity – is made up of Museveni, Kainerugaba, and the president’s powerful brother and special adviser, Salim Saleh. Kenya-based analyst for the Institute for Security Studies think-tank, Nicodemus Minde, tells the BBC that he heard the description during a recent research trip to Uganda.
“The Father being Museveni, then the Son being Muhoozi, then the Unholy Spirit could be the uncle, Salim Saleh,” he says. Minde describes Saleh as a “power behind the scenes”, saying he was “influential in terms of money, business and access”. Opposition supporters accuse the family of believing they have a God-given right to rule Uganda, with Museveni extending his 40-year-rule after he was declared the winner of the election with more than 70% of the vote. Indeed Anita Among, the speaker in the last parliament, also used the image of the holy trinity last year, as she rallied voters to back Museveni.
