Congo in threat to sever links with Uganda over Muhoozi’s X-tweets

It also came as he visited Ugandan troops in Operation Shujaa, a joint military operation with the Congolese army against Ugandan rebels operating in eastern DRC.

The Chief of Defence Forces visited North Kivu and Ituri Provinces, and held discussions with UPDF commanders.

But Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba on Thursday flagged Gen Muhoozi’s social media posts, saying they were worrying after he seemed to blame Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi over ongoing stalemate between DRC and Rwanda on activities of rebel group M23 in eastern Congo.

Rwanda and Uganda have been accused of supporting the Rwandese-Congolese rebels, allegations both Kigali and Kampala have refused.

His tweets have been rattling Kinshasa, especially since he is perceived to be close to the Kigali regime and, therefore, on its side on the war in eastern Congo.

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"God bless our ally, the FARDC. They are excellent soldiers. I am more than confident that we will have peace in eastern DRC as soon as we get rid of the mercenaries!" he wrote on his X days before he deactivated the account. 

That was a few days after he had threatened to invade DRC and attack the so-called white mercenaries whom he claimed were on Congolese soil and whom he promised to tackle vigorously from January 2025.

"I'm going to give only one warning to all white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. From 2nd January 2025 we will attack all mercenaries in our area of operations," he wrote. 

Just a few minutes later, the general promised to visit his “big brother" Félix Tshisekedi, President of the DRC, to convince him of the need for peace, because, he said, his "uncle" President Paul Kagame is a "man of peace".

Kinshasa took this statement to insinuate that if the war persisted, it was the Congolese Head of State's fault.

For the Congolese government, these statements jeopardise the existing partnership between Uganda and DRC.

"Gen Muhoozi's statements are particularly worrying, given the ambitions that the two countries share in terms of their partnership and friendship. We have been very clear with our Ugandan counterparts about the unacceptable nature of these statements. We have also been very clear that if these statements continue, and if there is no official and public clarification by the Ugandan authorities on the degree to which General Muhoozi, through his communications, engages the Ugandan government, we will also have to reconsider our partnership and our relationship," Foreign Minister Kayikwamba declared on Thursday.

The Ugandan and Congolese armies have been on Operation Shujaa since November 30, 2021, hunting down Ugandan rebels Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). 

The military partnership between Uganda and the DRC was renewed in 2024. As the head of the Ugandan military, Gen Muhoozi often visits the forces in the DRC to inspect progress.

When the UPDF and FARDC launched the joint operation in Ituri and North Kivu (Eastern DRC), the two armies also committed to building and rehabilitating roads to facilitate safer movement of soldiers and civilians in the future. 

Rehabilitation work focused in particular on the Mbau-Kamango and Nobili, Kamango-Semuliki-Beni sections in North Kivu. 

But before that, in June 2021, President Tshisekedi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had launched construction work to upgrade the Mpondwe/ Kasindi- Beni, Beni- Butembo and Bunangana - Rutshuru Goma stretches.

So far, the DRC has been cautious about Uganda’s stance. 

“In the current context, the DRC does not wish to have several enemies in the region at the same time,” argues Nicaise Kibel Bel, an expert on military issues. 

“A conflict between the DRC and Uganda would exacerbate an already complicated crisis with its huge ramifications,”Kibel warned.

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Muhoozi has often used undiplomatic language and threats, that some quarters take seriously, especially given his position as the military boss and son of President Museveni. 

He has always supported Rwandan President Paul Kagame and has never concealed his admiration of the Rwanda Defence Force, which he describes as one of the best armies in Africa, alongside the UPDF, the Ugandan army. 

These statements, sometimes written jocularly and later deleted, are, however, taken seriously in the DRC. 

“You can't understand that we have Ugandan soldiers dying alongside Congolese soldiers in Ituri and North Kivu fighting the ADF, these rebels who are originally Ugandans, and on the other hand, that there is a kind of support given to terrorists,” Congolese Government Spokesman Patrick Muyaya said.

“You can rest assured that we are following the issue very closely, and that our Ugandan partners are aware that we have repeatedly expressed our disapproval, and that we will not hesitate to draw the necessary consequences,” added Foreign Minister Kayikwamba. 

Congolese authorities have always wanted to believe that in Uganda, Gen Muhoozi's positions are not necessarily those of President Museveni. For this reason, officials in Kinshasa have always consulted the Ugandan head of state on the crisis in the DRC. 

In July 2022, Infrastructure minister Alexis Gisaro, a Congolese Tutsi, was sent by President Tshisekedi to Uganda to lead a Congolese delegation to seek Museveni’s help for peace. 

Mr Gisaro told the Ugandan president: "Our presence is justified by the fact that we are aware of your influence in the sub-region. We are convinced that it is difficult to find a solution without you. We are here to discuss possible solutions with you."

Now the Congolese government says it is "not enough to say that the Ugandan government communicates only through its Foreign ministry and its presidency.”

“The reality is that there are individuals who take the liberty of making comments and statements that damage the sensitive stability of the region. And we cannot accept bureaucratic responses from our partners who tell us that these people are not committing anyone but themselves," Kayikwamba said.

In November 2024, a delegation of 11 Congolese MPs was dispatched to Uganda for a one-week mission, again as part of the search for peace. 

President Museveni reportedly drew up a list of things his Congolese counterpart needed to do.

"Here's what I have against President Tshisekedi: he refuses to negotiate with the rebels. He must negotiate; he made the mistake of replacing the EAC force with the SADC force. The conflict is regional. Rwanda and Uganda do not belong to SADC. Third criticism: the roads. We wanted to build the roads, but you procrastinated. So far, there's nothing. We've provided the financial means, but you haven't contributed. The fourth criticism is the pooling of forces. We have more soldiers than you in Operation Shujaa, but you are doing nothing. If you had put in a lot of troops, we would already have defeated the ADF."

Mr Kibel says "Museveni is in the same position as a."

This suggests that the positions taken by Museveni's son may, therefore, reflect the general stance of Ugandan officials.

But Muhoozi has not only targeted DRC.

When there was a change of guard in Kenya and President William Ruto came to power, Muhoozi made numerous statements regretting why "his big brother" President Uhuru Kenyatta had not clung on to power. Kainerugaba also teased the Kenyan army, saying that he and the UPDF could capture Nairobi in no time. In December 2024, Sudan demanded an official apology from Uganda after General Kainerugaba made remarks seen as disparaging and "irresponsible".

Thérèse Kayikwamba also noted this. The Minister of Foreign Affairs concluded: "I think our Ugandan partners have enough material to look into this issue and find a solution and communicate it credibly to all partners who have reason to be concerned about this particular form of communication".