Muhoozi Kainerugaba: A man well-known without being known well (Part I)
Published in the Monitor Sunday, May 15, 2022
By Norbert Mao
It was Thucydides who said that “of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.” That brings me to the unrestrained jamborees that have passed for birthday parties hosted to mark Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s 48th birthday. I have been wondering how to characterize these lavish feasts. I lacked the methodology. So I simply resorted to the words and actions of the main character. After reading the tweets and watching videos I concluded that the birthdays are a charm offensive with a sting. Velvet concealing a coat of mail. I will return to this theme in my next column.
But who is the lead character in this melodrama? It is not easy being the son of a man many see as a colossus. Ask Jimmy Akena! Men like Adolf Hitler simply didn’t bother to have any offsprings. Even the husbands of famous women struggle to be visible in the shadows cast by their elevated better halves. In the parliamentary garden parties Miria Matembe’s husband was a regular star. Everybody wanted to meet the husband of a woman projected as larger than life. Muhoozi cannot escape the scrutiny that comes with being the first son. But let me first start with the facts that speak to his credentials. The interpretation will come later.
Because of the polarity and the “us” versus “them” politics, Muhoozi is presented as a man hiding behind his father’s profile. One would think if he were asked to bring his CV, he would simply produce his birth certificate! While we can assume that his privileged birth has parted many waters for him and provided him with stepping stones and tailwinds, we will also grant him his due on account of his efforts. After all, how many in similar circumstances have been given ladders to scale the heights only to set the wood ablaze for temporary warmth!
So we place him in Kampala Parents from where he sat his Primary Leaving Exams and joined Kings College Budo for a year. He then went to St. Mary’s College Kisubi until 1994 after which he joined Nottingham University where he obtained a Political Science degree in 1997. Upon return he was embroiled in a controversy about his status in Uganda’s military. The president claimed he was an enthusiastic member of the Local Defence Unit (LDU) who was doing a lot to interest his peers in a military career. In 1999 he was formally enrolled in the army. That same year he married Charlotte Nankunda Kutesa. The couple have three children.
In 2000, he went to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst from where he graduated as an Officer Cadet and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on return. He was also appointed head of the Combat Readiness Unit within the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU). Soon he was made Captain before being sent to the Egyptian Military Academy. In Egypt he took the company and battalion commanders courses. When he returned he was promoted to the rank of Major in the renamed Presidential Guard Brigade. While in that post he continued attending various military courses like the Kalama Armoured Warfare Training School, in Kabamba, Mubende District. Between 2007 and 2008 he attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On return he was made a Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Commander of the Special Forces Group within the UPDF. Thereafter, he went and attended the Executive National Security Programme at the South African National Defence College. He continued to rise through the ranks in leaps and bounds. In 2016, he became a Major General. In 2017, he was appointed Senior Presidential Adviser for Special Operations. On February 8th 2019, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. At the time of writing this article he has been given the additional responsibility as Commander of Land Forces.
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