Gen Saleh pleads for Otafire as Muhoozi insists on arrest

In posts on X overnight following October 2, 2026, Kainerugaba accused Otafiire of insulting him and rejected calls to let the matter rest.

“I have just spoken to my great uncle, Afande Saleh, he asked me to forgive Otafiire,” Kainerugaba wrote.

He said he had told Saleh that they were tired of older men who spent their time abusing them.

“We are going to deal with this issue once and for all!” he added.

Internal Affair Minister Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire appearing before the committee on defence Saleh’s reported intervention followed remarks Otafiire made to students in Bushenyi earlier that day. Otafiire reaffirmed his opposition to Kainerugaba’s Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and said he would never join it.

He also struck a defiant tone as he recalled his involvement in struggles against former presidents Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

“I fought Idi Amin, was I safe? I fought Milton Obote for five years. I would rather die on my feet fighting than live on my knees begging,” Otafiire said.

Kainerugaba subsequently threatened arrest in several posts.

“I think we shall still arrest Otafiire for insulting God’s Army. High Treason in my opinion,” he wrote.

The Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Image credit: Uganda Media Centre. “I am going to arrest Otafiire for a lifetime of hatred against me. While he claims to love my father. He will explain to me and Mzee how that works.”

Kainerugaba did not set out evidence supporting his allegation of treason. The posts also did not establish that authorities had arrested Otafiire or brought charges against him.

He later claimed that Otafiire had switched off his phones and that they were looking for him because he had “many cases to answer for”. He did not identify those cases.

Kainerugaba also declared that Otafiire would apologise and “will never stand for anything in Bushenyi again”.

The overnight posts escalated an ultimatum he issued earlier on October 2. He initially gave Otafiire one week to apologise over remarks he said the minister had made in Parliament. He then reduced the deadline to three days.

“One week is too long, he has 3 days to apologise,” he wrote.

The latest threats came before that shortened deadline had elapsed. Saleh’s appeal, as recounted by Kainerugaba, did not end the confrontation.