Key facts
- At least a dozen generals and senior officers have been detained since April 2025, per a Daily Monitor investigation cited by the BBC.
- Gen Kainerugaba is army chief and the son of President Yoweri Museveni, who has held power for four decades.
- Peter Elwelu, former deputy army chief, was detained on November 2, 2026 over an alleged plot to destabilise the eastern Teso region.
- The army confirmed Elwelu's detention and said 15 guns, military uniforms and two pickup trucks linked to him were recovered.
- NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong Awany said the party met on November 10, 2026 and denied reports that it rejected a proposal to back Gen Kainerugaba.
- Gen Kainerugaba's X account became inaccessible the day after he threatened Vice-President Jessica Alupo in deleted posts.
Uganda's army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has overseen the arrest of at least a dozen generals and senior officers over the past 15 months, according to an investigation by Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper cited by the BBC. Kainerugaba is also the son of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for four decades, and is widely seen as a potential successor within the ruling National Resistance Movement.
Within the military, the recent wave of detentions includes three former military intelligence chiefs. Maj Gen James Birungi was arrested in August 2025 on allegations including treason, terrorism and corruption, charged before a military court, and later released after Kainerugaba said he had forgiven him. Maj Gen Abel Kandiho was detained in September 2026 over allegations of providing false intelligence and treachery, and remains in detention, the Daily Monitor reported. His predecessor, Brig-Gen Charles Bakahumura, was arrested the same month over similar allegations but later released after the army chief said he had forgiven him.
The former deputy army chief, Peter Elwelu, was detained on November 2, 2026 over allegations that he plotted to destabilise the eastern Teso region, following social media posts by Kainerugaba accusing him of treachery. Kainerugaba wrote on X that Elwelu had been stripped of his three-star rank and demoted to Private, and claimed more than 20 soldiers linked to Elwelu had been arrested. The army later confirmed the detention and said 15 guns, military uniforms and two pickup trucks linked to Elwelu had been recovered; his family rejected the allegations.