Why Museveni Reprimanded Son Over Tweets Attacking Kenya

Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, has revealed that he was only correcting his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, after his reckless statements on Twitter almost triggered a diplomatic row between the country and Kenya.

Speaking to KTN News' Sophia Wanuna on Sunday, October 16, Museveni said that he was not keen on punishing him, noting that his aim was to suppress the bad in him so that the good remains.

He recognised that the African continent has its own issues but not regarding tweeting and that Muhoozi was a good general who only made a mistake.

However, he promised that his son would not talk about other countries, even Uganda's politics, in the same reckless manner he did against Kenya.

“Africa has a lot of problems and Twitting is not the most serious problem. That General [Muhoozi], is a very good officer with army things. If someone is good at something but makes a mistake in something else, you try to manage it,” he said.

“If he was tweeting on sports or things that are not controversial, that would not be a problem, but to talk about other countries, or even politics of Uganda, is what he will not do," he said.

Muhoozi had ignited fireworks on Twitter when he daringly stated that his army would capture the city of Nairobi in two weeks.

As a result, he was removed as the head of the Ugandan army and replaced by Lieutenant-General Kayanja Muhanga. However, he was promoted to full General.

Later on, he asked Kenyans to forgive his son for his remarks which caused an uproar across the East African nation.

Museveni: Why Kenyans Work Harder Than Ugandans

On Kenyans being more hardworking than Ugandans, Museveni noted that the country's rich land that has enabled Ugandans access to food at ease has made some of its citizens “lazy” people.

In comparison, he noted that Kenyans have to work harder than Ugandans to put food on the table because most of the country does not favour agriculture.

“Uganda is a very rich country. There are a lot of natural resources. That’s why these Ugandans are lazy. They are lazy because a fool here cannot easily die. If you are a fool, you can survive by just eating at your brother’s home, and wandering about. There’s no way you’ll easily die in Uganda.

“For Kenyans, it’s a bit harder [putting food on the table]. Most of the country is semi-arid. The part of the country which accommodates agriculture is a small percentage. Here [in Uganda], every place is very nice,” he said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations notes that at least 80 per cent of Uganda is food secure.

However, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Kenya make up 89 per cent of the country, covering 29 counties and a population of about 16 million people. The ASAL areas of Kenya are largely in the Rift Valley, Eastern, Northeastern and Coast regions.

Watch the full interview: