“Either you apologise, or we will throw you out of the country”.
That’s not usual for a US envoy to get this awful treatment on foreign soil. But it looks like in Uganda; the government of President Museveni has made up mind to speak the language that Washington understands.
The East African nation’s military chief General Muhoozi on X accused US Ambassador William Popp of disrespecting the president and the constitution of Uganda. Muhoozi alleged that Ambassador Popp was hand in glove with opposition parties and so-called NGOs to work against the current government.
General Muhoozi wrote, “If this current US Ambassador does not apologize to President Museveni personally by Monday morning (9.00am) for his undiplomatic behavior in our country we will demand he leaves Uganda.”
The military chief said that Uganda “loved and admired” the US and have “no problem” with the country. “But lately we have a lot of evidence that they have been working against the NRM government.”
He also accused the US of trying to control the Ugandan president. But he vowed “no foreign country will ever dominate Uganda again.”
But the question is: Why is the US so eager to throw Museveni out of power. The answer is: Museveni’s pro-Russia policy.
Just in August this year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared Uganda as a key strategic ally in Africa. The two nations have vowed to deepen their ties in areas such as defence and security.
Later that month, Russia also gifted Ugandan army gifts worth $100 million. That is nearly 10% of the country’s total defence budget.
The same month, General Muhoozi declared he wouldn’t shy away from sending Ugandan troops to defend Moscow in case of an “imperialist” threat.
He declared, “Call me +Putinist+ if you want, we Uganda should send soldiers to defend Moscow if ever it was threatened by imperialists.”
He added, “The West is wasting its time with useless pro-Ukraine propaganda.”
Back in July, during a tour of Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the general said, referring to Russia, “How can we be against someone who has never hurt us?”
Uganda’s pro-Russia policy is what has now unnerved the US.
Now, Since Popp became Washington’s envoy in September last year, an increasing number of Ugandan officials have been placed under US sanctions. Earlier this week, four of the country’s high-ranking police officers were blacklisted by the State Department on allegations of violations of human rights.
Some of the officers blacklisted have since retired from the force or transferred and appointed to new roles. The statement by the US did not mention when the alleged human rights violations were committed.
This round of sanctions added to the growing list of Uganda government officials, including senior officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and Uganda Prisons Service, who have been slapped with visa bans for alleged violation of human rights while others were placed under financial sanctions over economic crimes claims.
Not just the US, the UK in April had also designated the Speaker of Uganda Parliament Anita Among, as well as former and current Cabinet ministers on claims of engaging in serious corruption and violation of human rights.
So, the US resorts to imposing sanctions on countries when they don’t dance to Washington’s tunes. In Uganda too, the US thought it will have its way. But as we can see, General Muhoozi has some rude surprises ready for the US envoy.