Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has demanded an apology from Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda over her declaration that President Yoweri Museveni will contest the 2031 presidential election and also contradicting his words and warned that she risks facing arrest for spreading falsehoods.
Muhoozi’s remarks came days after Babalanda told a gathering of district political and technical leaders at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi that Museveni would remain Uganda’s presidential candidate in 2031 and beyond, despite the army chief’s own declaration that he intends to run for the country’s highest office in that election.
Taking to X, Muhoozi openly challenged the minister’s statement.
“I want an apology from Minister Babalanda for spreading falsehoods. Otherwise, she will lose her job!”
He later escalated the warning in another post.
He warned, “Actually she is in danger of arrest! Let me agree with Mzee.”
Muhoozi further said that once some ministers enter the cabinet they forget about the people who elected them and revealed that PLU will make them remember everyday about the people.
“Next time a Minister of the Cabinet contradicts my position, I want to hear howls of opposition from our members in the Cabinet. Otherwise, our supporters will take action,”Muhoozi warned.
The debate has thrust Uganda’s succession debate back into the spotlight, with two senior figures in the ruling establishment advancing conflicting positions on who should carry the country’s leadership beyond the current political cycle.
While addressing leaders in Kyankwanzi, Babalanda praised Museveni’s leadership and declared that his presidency would continue well beyond 2031.
“President Museveni came here to stay, he’s going to stay,” she said as the audience applauded.
She added President Museveni will be on the ballot paper 2031 and beyond by the grace of God.
Her remarks came barely a day after Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda, a senior official of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), announced that Muhoozi had personally confirmed his intention to contest the presidency in 2031.
“I am here once again to inform you that Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has informed me that he is going to stand for President of Uganda in 2031,” Kabanda said.
Kabanda’s announcement coincided with the launch of PLU’s National Endorsement Book, a nationwide mobilisation campaign aimed at collecting signatures from supporters across all districts to formally endorse Muhoozi’s future presidential bid.
The endorsement drive marks one of the clearest signs yet that Muhoozi’s political project has moved beyond speculation into organised national mobilisation, with PLU structures expected to coordinate signature collection and grassroots activities across the country before presenting the completed books to the army chief.
For years, Muhoozi has been regarded by supporters and political observers alike as the most prominent figure likely to shape Uganda’s post Museveni era. The conversation surrounding what has long been referred to as the “Muhoozi Project” has steadily evolved into an organised political movement, particularly through the expansion of PLU into a nationwide mobilisation platform.
Muhoozi himself has repeatedly signalled his presidential ambitions over recent years. Before the 2026 General Election, he indicated interest in contesting before stepping back to support Museveni’s re-election campaign. Since then, his political messaging has increasingly shifted toward preparations for 2031, with his latest declaration leaving little doubt about his intentions.
Despite the growing mobilisation around Muhoozi, President Museveni has not publicly announced whether he will seek another term in 2031 or named a preferred successor. The ruling National Resistance Movement has also not opened its presidential nomination process for that election, leaving the question of who will eventually carry the party’s flag officially unanswered.
Museveni, who has led Uganda since January 1986, secured another term in the 2026 elections, extending his four decades in power. Throughout his presidency, speculation over succession has repeatedly surfaced, but the President has consistently retained control over the timing and direction of major political decisions.
