KAMPALA — Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has intensified his attacks against Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) chairman Odrek Rwabwogo, threatening to have him arrested over what he described as criminal conduct.
Muhoozi, who is also Uganda’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, issued a series of posts on X on Friday, saying Rwabwogo would soon be arrested.
“As Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, I will arrest the criminal Odrek soon and bring peace to our people,” Muhoozi said.
He later described the statement as his “last warning”, adding: “From now on it will be actions.”
Muhoozi also dismissed the possibility that Rwabwogo could avoid arrest by relying on his family connections. “If Odrek thinks hiding behind my sister will save him, he is joking!” he said.
In another post, Muhoozi said arresting Rwabwogo would be straightforward. “Arresting Odrek is the simplest thing I have ever done. I will do it,” he said.
The threats deepen an increasingly public confrontation between Muhoozi and Rwabwogo, who is married to Muhoozi’s sister, Patience Rwabwogo.
Muhoozi has in recent days attacked PACEID, accusing the organisation of operating illegally and announcing that it would be dissolved.
On Friday, he said PACEID’s functions, budgets and responsibilities would immediately be transferred to Operation Wealth Creation (OWC).
“We are officially dissolving PACEID as an organisation. All its functions, budgets and responsibilities will be taken over by Operation Wealth Creation,” Muhoozi said.
He also advised the Ministry of Finance to redirect $14 million reportedly intended for PACEID to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) for construction of accommodation for soldiers.
PACEID has been involved in efforts to promote Uganda’s exports and industrial development, but Muhoozi has accused the organisation and its members of corruption and described it as an illegal entity.
The dispute has taken on a particularly unusual dimension because Rwabwogo is a member of President Museveni’s family through marriage.
Muhoozi said his parents had “forced” Rwabwogo upon him as a brother-in-law and claimed he had instead approved Edwin Karugire as the only brother-in-law he recognised.
“Parents must learn to listen to the voices of their sons,” he said.
Muhoozi’s latest statements also included comments questioning Rwabwogo’s ethnic identity, saying he doubted that Rwabwogo was a Muhima and suggesting he might be a Muhutu.
The remarks have added a personal and identity-based dimension to what began as a dispute over an institution involved in government economic policy.
Muhoozi has previously said PACEID members would be arrested, while MP Daudi Kabanda was expected to explain publicly why the organisation had been proscribed.
The escalating dispute now raises questions beyond PACEID itself: where does the authority of a military commander end when allegations concern civilians and government institutions, and what happens when a dispute inside one of Uganda’s most politically prominent families spills into the public sphere?
For now, Muhoozi says the next step will not be another warning.
It will be action.
