A bitter family dispute involving Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his brother-in-law Odrek Rwabwogo has reportedly widened, with sources close to the First Family claiming that Bishop Patience Museveni Rwabwogo has warned that her relationship with her brother has reached breaking point.
The reported fallout has emerged against the backdrop of the arrest and subsequent charging of Matthew Bagonza, a close aide to Rwabwogo and head of the secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID).
Bagonza was on Thursday charged before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala with abuse of office and money laundering and remanded to Luzira Prison until October 5. He did not enter a plea after his lawyers challenged the jurisdiction of the lower court to receive it.
Bishop Patience and her husband, Rwabwogo, were in court as Bagonza appeared in the dock.
According to family sources, the development has deepened tensions between Patience and Muhoozi, who had previously enjoyed a close relationship as siblings.
“The God I serve will give us justice, otherwise me and Muhoozi we are done,” Patience is reported to have told a close family confidant.
The statement could not independently be verified, but it reflects the depth of the family tensions now surrounding the Bagonza case.
Muhoozi’s warning
The latest crisis follows a public confrontation between Muhoozi and Rwabwogo that has played out unusually openly, with the two relatives exchanging accusations over PACEID and the treatment of Bagonza.
On August 25, Muhoozi publicly declared PACEID illegal and said members implicated in corruption would be arrested. He subsequently confirmed that Bagonza had been arrested.
The arrest immediately placed Rwabwogo and Muhoozi on opposite sides of an increasingly public dispute.
Rwabwogo questioned the circumstances of Bagonza’s detention and said that if his aide had committed an offence, he should be brought before a competent court and allowed to defend himself.
He also said President Yoweri Museveni had told him that he was not aware of Bagonza’s arrest and had not ordered it.
The disagreement became even more serious after Muhoozi used social media to attack PACEID and its officials, while Rwabwogo defended the institution and insisted that government institutions should operate according to established procedures.
The media has previously reported that Muhoozi had previously described Rwabwogo in highly critical terms and that the two men had clashed over Rwabwogo’s activities and views on Uganda’s political direction.
Patience caught in the middle
For Patience, the dispute has placed her in an uncomfortable position between her husband and her brother. She is the daughter of President Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni and is married to Rwabwogo.
Sources familiar with the family dynamics say the arrest of Bagonza has transformed what was previously an argument between two powerful members of the extended First Family into a wider family crisis.
Patience’s appearance in court alongside her husband on Thursday was interpreted by observers as a sign of solidarity with Rwabwogo and Bagonza.
However, the court appearance itself does not establish her position on the allegations against Bagonza.
The prosecution alleges that Bagonza abused his office by incorporating a private company with objectives similar to those of PACEID and that about Sh171.7m was transferred from an account associated with the organisation to his personal account.
The prosecution alleges that the transactions were intended to conceal or disguise the illicit origin of the funds. Bagonza has not pleaded to the charges, and the allegations remain unproven.
Janet enters the picture
The growing dispute has reportedly alarmed First Lady Janet Museveni, who sources say has become concerned that the disagreement could permanently damage relations between her children and son-in-law.
Sources claim that Janet has summoned Muhoozi as she attempts to calm the situation and prevent the disagreement from spreading further within the family.
“She is trying all her best to mend the ties between Odrek and her son,” a source familiar with the discussions reportedly said.
The First Lady has not publicly commented on the alleged family intervention.
According to people familiar with the dispute, one of the most difficult issues is the political disagreement between Muhoozi and Rwabwogo.
Rwabwogo has publicly called for dialogue and reforms within the ruling establishment, positions that have at times put him at odds with Muhoozi’s political project.
Muhoozi has increasingly positioned himself at the centre of Uganda’s political conversation, while Rwabwogo has continued to speak publicly on economic policy, exports, governance and political reforms.
Political activists have described their dispute as an unusually public confrontation within President Museveni’s extended family.
The succession question
Behind the immediate dispute lies a broader political question that has increasingly shaped the relationship between the two men: the future direction of the National Resistance Movement and Muhoozi’s political ambitions.
Muhoozi has publicly spoken about his political future, while Rwabwogo has advocated dialogue and institutional reforms. Their differences have therefore not remained purely personal.
The confrontation over PACEID has provided a new platform for those disagreements, with Muhoozi attacking the organisation and Rwabwogo insisting that it was formally established and has a legitimate government mandate.
PACEID says it was established to support Uganda’s export and industrial-development agenda, while Rwabwogo has defended its record and mandate.
Council of elders prepare intervention
With the disagreement now threatening to deepen divisions within the First Family, the council of elders from Ankole are reportedly preparing to intervene.
Sources say the elders are expected to engage members of the family in an effort to restore dialogue between Muhoozi and Rwabwogo before the dispute causes further damage.
Their intervention would follow a long-standing tradition in which senior family members and community elders are called upon to mediate disputes involving prominent families.
The elders are expected to appeal for restraint and discourage the continued public exchange of accusations.
Their immediate challenge, however, will be to separate the family disagreement from the criminal proceedings against Bagonza.
The case is now before court, and the allegations against him will have to be determined through the judicial process.
Museveni’s difficult position
Just like the tale of the cunning and witty fox, President Museveni has so far remained publicly restrained about the confrontation. That silence has fuelled speculation about whether he will personally intervene or allow the legal and institutional processes to take their course.
Rwabwogo has said that when he met the President after Bagonza’s arrest, Museveni told him he had not ordered the arrest and was unaware of it.
The President’s reported position has added another layer to the dispute because Muhoozi’s public confirmation of Bagonza’s detention came before the eventual court proceedings.
For now, the family crisis is unfolding alongside a criminal case that has yet to reach its substantive hearing.
Bagonza remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty, while the allegations exchanged between Muhoozi and Rwabwogo remain part of a wider public dispute.
What began as a confrontation over PACEID has consequently developed into a difficult test for family relations at the centre of Uganda’s political establishment.
With Janet Museveni reportedly attempting to bring the sides together and Ankole elders preparing to intervene, attention is now turning to whether the family can restore dialogue before the dispute becomes even more entrenched.
Author Profile
- Charles Gazza Kodili is a seasoned journalist with over 20 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication. He’s currently the Chief Editor at the Investigator.
Charles can also be reached via; Tel: +256 774 108978
Email: [email protected]
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