Uganda’s army may have found a new use for social media: demoting a retired general.
Uganda’s military hierarchy has been turned on its head, at least on social media, after Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that retired Lt Gen Peter Elwelu had been stripped of his ranks and demoted to private.
“The traitor Peter Elweru is hereby stripped of his ranks. He is demoted to Private,” Kainerugaba wrote on X at 12:06am on Tuesday, October 27.
Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and son of President Yoweri Museveni, did not provide details of the procedure behind the reported demotion.
Kainerugaba said more than 20 soldiers formerly associated with Elwelu had been arrested and were cooperating with authorities. He also pointed to suspected links involving killings, although the allegations have not been established by investigators.
Elwelu, a former deputy chief of Uganda’s armed forces, was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over alleged human rights violations linked to the 2016 military operation in Kasese, during which more than 100 people were killed.
The latest announcement raises questions about the status of Elwelu’s reported demotion and whether it has been formalised through military procedures.
For now, the episode offers an unusual twist in military discipline: a general’s career appears to have taken a dramatic turn in a post on X. Whether the formal chain of command has followed the same route remains to be established.
