Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has formally announced his intention to contest for the presidency in the 2031 general elections to succeed his father, President Yoweri Museveni.
The declaration was delivered on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, by David Kabanda, an aide to Muhoozi and Head of the Chairman’s Office of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU). Addressing party officials, Kabanda revealed that the move has received the explicit approval of President Museveni, who has led the East African nation since 1986.
“I am here once again to inform you that General Kainerugaba has informed me that he is going to run for the president of uganda,” Kabanda announced during the PLU meeting. “I must tell you that this one has been sanctioned by His Excellency the President.”
The announcement comes shortly after Gen. Muhoozi posted on social media expressing confidence in securing a decisive victory. “With my great father, Mzee’s, support I will get 90% in the elections in 2031,” he stated on X.
To support the presidential bid, the PLU plans to organize endorsement rallies across Uganda’s 146 districts to collect the signatures required for nomination. The political mobilization effort is set to begin in earnest, with campaigns expected to officially launch in January 2027 as the party targets a 90 per cent victory margin.
The declaration firmly places Muhoozi at the center of Uganda’s long-debated political succession. President Museveni secured a seventh term in office in the January 2026 general elections—a poll marked by opposition allegations of fraud, state-led repression, and digital blackouts. During those campaigns, Museveni hinted at stepping down after his current term, even offering to campaign for opposition leader Bobi Wine in 2031 if Wine backed his 2026 bid.
Having previously sat out the 2026 presidential race to support his father, Muhoozi’s formal entry into the succession matrix intensifies debate over the future of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the role of the military in Uganda’s governance.
