【Son of Uganda's President Demands $10 Billion and the "Most Beautiful" Bride from Turkey】

On April 11, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and commander of Uganda’s Special Forces, took to social media platform X demanding that Turkey pay $10 billion and hand over the country’s “most beautiful woman” as a bride. He threatened to sever diplomatic ties with Ankara if these demands were not met.

Kainerugaba justified his demands by pointing out that between 2007 and 2011, Uganda, backed by the United States, Britain, and France within the African Union framework, fought local armed factions in Somalia. Meanwhile, he claimed, Turkey exploited this situation—entering the region later than other nations—and secured lucrative infrastructure projects, including building a port and airport in Mogadishu.

Based on this, Kainerugaba argued that Turkey should compensate Uganda with $10 billion as a “security dividend.”

“Besides demanding this $10 billion from Turkey, I also want their most beautiful woman as my wife! For Turkey, this deal is simple: either pay up, or I’ll shut down their embassy here. They can do the same—close our embassy in Turkey. No problem.”

In another post, Kainerugaba added that if his demands are unmet, Uganda would ban Turkish Airlines flights from flying over its airspace and cut all diplomatic relations with Ankara within 30 days.

He also advised all Ugandan citizens to “temporarily refrain from traveling to Turkey for personal safety reasons.” Subsequently, some of these posts were deleted.

According to PA Turkey, three main factors lie behind this conflict.

First, Ankara has refused to extradite Fred Rumbuye, a Ugandan opposition blogger currently residing in Turkey, citing legal procedures and human rights protections.

Second, Uganda canceled its $2.2 billion railway project partnership with Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi company due to delays in funding.

Third, Uganda feels increasingly uneasy about Turkey’s growing military and diplomatic presence in East Africa—particularly in Somalia and Ethiopia—viewing it as an encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence.

In March this year, Kainerugaba declared his readiness to send 100,000 Ugandan troops to assist Israel. He also made a provocative statement toward Iran: “No matter how great Iran thinks it is… it’s nothing! Unless they acknowledge the supreme authority of Jesus Christ.” Tehran promptly mocked the Ugandan general’s threats.

Additionally, Kainerugaba had previously offered assistance to the U.S. in a potential war against Iran. In a later deleted post, he claimed Uganda’s military could “capture Tehran within 72 hours without bombing.”

Before this, Kainerugaba had repeatedly landed in trouble due to his remarks.

For example, in October 2022, he publicly proposed trading 100 Ankole cows—“the most beautiful cows on Earth”—for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s affection.

He further added, “If Romans refuse our cows, then we’ll have no choice but to occupy Rome. That would take us just a few days.”

After the scandal erupted, Ugandan President Museveni was forced to formally apologize on behalf of his son to Italy.

Yet, in the same year, Kainerugaba threatened to invade Kenya: “My army and I don’t need two weeks to take over Nairobi.” His father was compelled to issue a formal apology to Kenyan authorities, and Museveni temporarily revoked his son’s command authority.

As of this writing, neither Turkish nor Somali officials have commented on the incident. Ugandan authorities have not clarified whether Kainerugaba’s statements represent official government policy or merely his personal views. Despite the tension, trade and commercial ties between the two countries remain intact.

This underscores how, in today’s pragmatic diplomatic environment, such outbursts are widely dismissed as mere “ravings of a royal heir,” unlikely to affect national interests—a reality that carries its own ironic undertone.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862263879569408/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.