Uganda army chief threatens vice-president amid succession tensions

Uganda’s military chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has threatened Vice-President Jessica Alupo with dismissal and possible arrest, while suggesting he should take her post. The episode has intensified speculation about succession as his father, President Yoweri Museveni, approaches the end of four decades in power, and raised questions about divisions within the military and ruling party.

At least a dozen generals and senior officers have been arrested over the past 15 months, prompting claims that the crackdown targets those opposing Kainerugaba’s presidential ambitions; others describe it as an anti-corruption drive. A 10 November meeting of the ruling National Resistance Movement ended without agreement on backing him as Museveni’s successor, according to sources cited by AFP, though the party denied reports that the proposal had been rejected. Former deputy army chief Lt Gen Peter Elwelu was detained on 2 November over alleged plans to destabilise eastern Teso, after Kainerugaba accused him of treachery and said he had demoted him.