Uganda To Send Soldiers To Moscow To Defend Putin

The son of Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said in a statement that he would send Ugandan troops to defend Putin in Moscow in case an "imperialist" threat arises on the Russian leader.

"Call me +Putinist+ if you want, we Uganda should send soldiers to defend Moscow if ever it was threatened by imperialists," he wrote in a statement. 

"The West is wasting its time with useless pro-Ukrainian propaganda," added the president's son, a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin.

He also announced the creation of a television and radio channel bearing his brand, "MK."

Kainerugaba, 48, who is known for making contentious statements, declared his bid for the 2026 presidential election in Uganda earlier this month.

Yoweri Museveni proclaimed on October 18, 2022, that his only son (he also has three daughters) would no longer make statements about the country's affairs, following a series of contentious statements that his son made in early October in which he particularly threatened to attack Kenya.

Uganda has refrained from UN votes on the Ukrainian conflict, including one in February on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which called on Moscow to remove its forces from the country.

During Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Africa in July, Kainerugaba said of Russia, "How can we be against someone who has never hurt us?"

Russia has long had strong links with Africa, having backed freedom groups on the continent that were at the time-fighting imperial powers.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba has long been regarded as a probable successor to his father, Yoweri Museveni, 78.