“I Am Going To Abduct Ssenyonyi And Ssemuju Nganda And I Will Get A New LoP From PLU” Muhoozi Says

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and First Son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has escalated his public exchange with Nakawa West Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, warning the legislator against likening him to former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony while renewing threats of arrest.

In a series of posts published on X on Thursday, June 18, 2026, Gen. Kainerugaba responded directly to Ssenyonyi, insisting that comparisons between him and the notorious rebel leader were inappropriate given the Uganda People’s Defence Forces’ long-running campaign against the LRA.

“@JoelSsenyonyi before I arrest you, let me educate you small boy. Do not compare me to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony. We fought them for many years. I know what they were. If I was LRA you would not own your testicles today,” Gen. Kainerugaba wrote in one of the posts.

The CDF went further by suggesting that he intended to influence the leadership of the opposition in Parliament, declaring that he wanted a replacement for Ssenyonyi as Leader of the Opposition.

“I want a new leader of the opposition in Parliament. And I will get him. He will be endorsed by me,” he added.

The remarks came amid an ongoing series of controversial statements by the army chief directed at opposition politicians. Earlier on Thursday, Gen. Kainerugaba indicated that Ssenyonyi and former Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda would “follow very soon” after the recent arrest of former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.

The warning was accompanied by an image depicting Lukwago and veteran opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye wearing prison uniforms while eating what appeared to be beans and posho, a staple meal commonly associated with detention facilities.

In another post, Gen. Kainerugaba defended his authority to detain political opponents, writing: “Those who ask me how I can arrest Lukwago and keep him in my basement? I answer that as CDF I have every right to arrest anyone especially members of the opposition. I am going to continue to crush them until no one will remember who they were.”

The comments have attracted widespread attention on social media, adding to ongoing debate about the role of senior military officials in political discourse and the boundaries of executive and military authority.

Ssenyonyi had earlier criticized Gen. Kainerugaba over his public statements and conduct, prompting the latest exchange. As of Thursday evening, there had been no official indication that any arrest warrant or legal action had been initiated against the Leader of the Opposition in connection with the CDF’s remarks.

The public spat also unfolds against the backdrop of heightened political tensions following the arrest and prosecution of Erias Lukwago, a prominent opposition lawyer and former Kampala Lord Mayor, whose case has generated significant public and political discussion.

Neither Parliament nor other relevant state institutions had immediately issued statements responding to Gen. Kainerugaba’s latest declarations regarding the Leader of the Opposition’s position or his comments about arresting opposition figures.

The exchange underscores the increasingly confrontational rhetoric that has characterized interactions between some government officials and opposition leaders in Uganda, with posts on social media continuing to serve as a platform for politically charged statements and reactions.