Ugandan Chief of Staff opens front with Turkey - and mobilizes the masses

Uganda's army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has escalated his stance against Turkey and called on his supporters to protest outside the Turkish embassy in Kampala on September 1. Kainerugaba, who also heads the "Patriotic League of Uganda" (PLU) movement, instructed two senior officials to mobilize as many participants as possible. The tension is linked to his criticism of Turkey's involvement in Somalia and previous steps such as calling for the expulsion of Turkish citizens and canceling a railway contract worth $3.2 billion.

Uganda's army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has intensified his hardline stance against Turkey and called on his supporters to hold a massive protest outside the Turkish embassy in Kampala on September 1. Kainerugaba, who also heads the "Patriotic League of Uganda" (PLU) movement, wrote on X that the protest will take place "without exception" and that all relevant parties have been notified. In another tweet, he addressed two senior movement officials, Daudi Kabanda and Twala Fadil, instructing them to mobilize as many participants as possible, aiming for it to be "the largest protest ever seen in Uganda." The tension between Kainerugaba and Turkey is not new. In June, he called for action against Turkish citizens staying in Uganda without valid work permits, even writing that "the Lord Jesus Christ commanded me to expel the Turks from his land." That same month, he announced the cancellation of a contract with the Turkish construction company "Yapi Merkezi" to build a standard-gauge railway in Uganda, a project valued at approximately $3.2 billion. Kainerugaba is the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and serves as commander of the armed forces and senior presidential advisor for special operations. The call for a mass protest outside the Turkish mission marks another escalation in his confrontation with Ankara.