Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni’s son and the country’s army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has sparked an unprecedented diplomatic controversy by demanding $100 million from Turkey and the country’s “most beautiful woman” as his wife.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, he warned that if his demands are not met, diplomatic relations with Turkey will be severed within 30 days and the Turkish embassy in Kampala will be closed.
Kainerugaba alleged that Turkey is making huge profits from various infrastructure and businesses, including the port and airport in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, while Uganda has been waging a bloody fight for two decades to maintain regional security there.
Claiming that Turkey is not properly valuing Uganda’s sacrifices in the fight against Al-Shabaab, he described the $100 million as a “security dividend.” He stated in very harsh language that Turkey must either pay this money or face the closure of its embassy.
Alongside the demands for money and marriage, he issued a travel warning for Ugandan citizens regarding travel to Turkey, citing security concerns. At the same time, he expressed full support for Israel, stating that he is ready to deploy one lakh soldiers under his command to protect the “Holy Land.”
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has made headlines before for such bizarre behaviour. In 2022, he proposed marriage to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, offering 100 high-breed cows in exchange. Following such capricious behaviour towards Turkey, there is now extreme discomfort in the diplomatic circles of both countries.
