Ugandan army chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has echoed remarks made by his father, President Yoweri Museveni, saying the opposition were ‘’lucky’’ to get more than 20% of the vote in last week’s presidential elections.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba said the ruling National Resistance Movement must now investigate why about 10 million of its members failed to vote in the 15 January elections.
The general went further, claiming that he is a “prophet” because he predicted President Museveni would ‘’win by the biggest percentage since 1996 and it happened.’’
The general, who is known for sparking local and international controversies, also issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the main opposition candidate Bobi Wine to surrender himself to the police or be treated as ‘’an outlaw or rebel’’.
Bobi Wine, who secured 24.7% against Museveni’s 71.6% according to official results, had claimed irregularities in the elections and gone into hiding.
Serious concerns
General Kainerugaba’s comments have drawn criticism from opposition leaders and civil society groups, who say such language, especially coming from a senior military officer and the president’s son, raises serious concerns in politics.
Earlier, President Museveni, who secured a seventh term in office, said that his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has a much larger support base than the election results showed, claiming about 10 million of his supporters failed to turn out to vote.
According to Museveni, despite an internal party review conducted in early May showing the NRM had 21 million members, 18 million of whom were registered voters, he secured around eight million votes.
“So, the opposition, and many of them who did not turn up are our members. 10 million of them did not turn up. So we must find out why. Where are the 10 million?” Museveni stated.
“So, the opposition are lucky because if all our members turned up, there will be no opposition in Uganda, I can assure you,” he added.
Museveni first came to power in 1986 following an uprising. He has won every presidential election since democracy was restored in 1996.
