The son of Ugandan head of state Yoweri Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said he would send Ugandan troops to defend Moscow in case of an “imperialist” threat. Uganda would send troops to defend Russia.

Uganda would send troops to defend Russia

“Call me a ‘Putinist’ if you want, we, Uganda, should send soldiers to defend Moscow if ever it was threatened by the imperialists,” words that have the merit of going straight to the point. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a former commander-in-chief of the Ugandan army, made no bones about it on Twitter, saying that his country was ready to send soldiers to support Moscow if needed.

“The West is wasting its time with useless pro-Ukrainian propaganda,” added the son of the president, a strong supporter of Vladimir Putin. Muhoozi Kainerugaba also said that Africans believe in Vladimir Putin’s goodwill regarding the situation in Eastern Europe. He recalled that the positions of China, Africa, India or South America often do not fit the Western narrative on Ukraine.

He also announced on Thursday the creation of a television and radio channel bearing his brand, “MK”.

Kainerugaba, 48, who is used to making controversial statements on Twitter, indicated this month that he would run for president in 2026.

On Oct. 18, 2022, Yoweri Museveni declared that his only son would no longer tweet about the country’s affairs, after a series of controversial tweets in early October in which he threatened to invade Kenya.

Uganda has abstained from UN votes on the Ukraine conflict, including one in February on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which called on Moscow to withdraw its troops from the country.

In July, during a tour of Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kainerugaba said, referring to Russia, “How can we be against someone who has never hurt us?

Russia has traditionally had strong ties to Africa because of its support for independence movements on the continent that were then struggling with colonial powers.

Observers have long considered Muhoozi Kainerugaba to be a likely successor to his 78-year-old father Yoweri Museveni.

At the same time, the country has come under regional and international criticism for enacting an anti-LGBTQ law.