Uganda’s political establishment has been drawn into a fresh controversy after Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba launched a series of social-media attacks against the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), accusing some of its members of corruption.
Muhoozi declared on X that PACEID was an “illegal organisation” and warned that members allegedly involved in corruption would be arrested. He later claimed that arrests had begun, saying President Yoweri Museveni had instructed him to pursue those he described as criminals within the committee.
The comments were followed by the arrest of Matthew Bagonza, a senior PACEID official and close aide to the committee’s chairman, Odrek Rwabwogo. Muhoozi confirmed Bagonza’s detention on social media but did not initially disclose the security agency holding him or the specific offence he was suspected of committing.
Muhoozi also warned radio and television stations against giving PACEID officials airtime, saying broadcasters that hosted members of what he called the outlawed organisation would face severe consequences.
The developments have placed Muhoozi and Rwabwogo, who are brothers-in-law, at the centre of an increasingly public dispute. Rwabwogo is married to Museveni’s daughter Patience, while he has chaired PACEID since its establishment under the Office of the President.
Rwabwogo has rejected Muhoozi’s characterisation of PACEID as illegal and called for Bagonza’s case to be handled through established legal procedures. He has insisted that individuals accused of wrongdoing should be taken before competent courts and given a fair trial.
He has also said Museveni told him that he was unaware of Bagonza’s arrest and had not ordered it, contradicting Muhoozi’s claim that the President had instructed him to arrest alleged PACEID criminals.
PACEID was established by Museveni in 2022 to advise the government on exports and industrial development, including expanding markets for Ugandan products and improving the country’s industrial competitiveness.
The dispute has therefore raised questions over the committee’s status, the circumstances surrounding Bagonza’s detention and the increasingly public disagreement within Uganda’s powerful First Family.