A storm of dissatisfaction is sweeping across Greater Bushenyi following an escalating public confrontation between two senior military figures – Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, Minister of Water and Environment and Member of Parliament for Ruhinda County, Mitooma, and Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces and National Chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
At the heart of the dispute is not merely personality, but ideology, identity, and representation.
Gen. Muhoozi, who is currently mobilizing for 20 million signatures to endorse his presidential bid for 2031 and beyond, has in recent days posted a series of statements on his X platform that residents describe as intimidatory and sectarian. In posts attributed to him, he threatened to arrest Maj. Gen. Otafiire unless he apologizes.
The trigger, according to parliamentary records, was Gen. Otafiire’s statement on Thursday, 1st October 2026, while addressing Parliament. Otafiire, invoking the National Resistance Movement’s foundational ideology of freedom of speech, democracy, and collective problem-solving, stated: “Good generals solve problems without shooting a bullet or violence.” He added: “You cannot know the ugly or beauty of your face before you look into the mirror,” – a statement widely interpreted as a candid reflection to NRM leadership.
The Bachwezi Statement: The Real Fault Line
However, it is another post attributed to Gen. Muhoozi that has ignited raw anger in Greater Bushenyi.
In the post, Gen. Muhoozi stated that the Bachwezi can only be Bahima/Batutsi, describing them as great soldiers.
For residents of Greater Bushenyi – predominantly Bakiga, Banyankole non-Bahima, and Bairu communities – the statement has been received as explicitly sectarian and discriminatory. Many now believe this is the real reason Maj. Gen. Otafiire is being fought: because he is not among the Bachwezi as defined in that lineage.
Gen. Otafiire, a celebrated bush war hero and one of the few remaining historicals from Greater Bushenyi still holding both an army and ministerial position, is seen as a son of the soil. Residents say the attack on him is an attack on the region’s last remaining representation at the highest levels of state power.
“We think Gen. Kahinda Otafiire is right because we are all equal and we cannot be ruled as people who don’t know what we want. Some people like Gen. Kahinda Otafiire fought for this government and they are loyal so you cannot just overlook such great heroes,” a resident posted in a popular WhatsApp forum in Mitooma.
NRM Ideology vs. Hereditary Politics
Residents further argue that Otafiire’s position is consistent with NRM ideology, which guarantees freedom of speech, democratic contestation, and non-sectarianism as enshrined in the NRM’s 10-point programme.
They contrast this with what they see as an emerging hereditary political narrative, after Gen. Muhoozi posted a photo of Michael Nuwagira, popularly known as Chairman Toyota – a brother to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – as Vice President in the next government, while NRM is still in power and no election has been held.
“This is totally not right. I support Kahinda Otafiire because we have not even voted. I am asking myself who is the president of Uganda now? This is not a hereditary government, we must know what’s going on,” another resident commented.
Greater Bushenyi Vows: No Endorsement Without Resolution
Across Bushenyi, Mitooma, Sheema, Buhweju and Rubirizi, the mood is bitter. In X spaces and WhatsApp forums monitored by this publication, residents have vowed not to endorse the PLU’s 20-million signature drive unless matters of belittling their General and issues of sectarianism are addressed.
Their argument is blunt: “For us, we don’t belong to either Bahima or Batutsi as per that Bachwezi definition, so where do we belong in this government we fought for?”
The NRM has for decades preached unity in diversity and non-sectarianism. Residents say if those principles are abandoned, the social contract that brought many Bakiga and Bairu into the liberation struggle collapses.
Efforts to get official comment from both generals were futile by press time. We are closely following this matter and shall keep you updated.
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