President Yoweri Museveni has sanctioned a planned 2031 presidential bid by his son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, according to David Kabanda, Executive Secretary to the National Chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
Kabanda made the revelation while addressing supporters, saying Gen. Muhoozi had informed him of his intention to run for President of Uganda in 2031 and that the move had received approval from Museveni.
“I am here once again to inform you that General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has informed me that he is going to run for President of Uganda in 2031 and this has been sanctioned by His Excellency the President,” Kabanda said.
The declaration places Gen. Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces, at the centre of early political succession discussions within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
A 2031 presidential bid would put Muhoozi in direct succession calculations as Uganda looks beyond the 2026 general elections. Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, won the 2026 election with a landslide.
Kabanda’s statement also marks a significant political development given Muhoozi’s long-standing public interest in Uganda’s political future and his establishment of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a movement that has attracted support among sections of the ruling establishment and younger Ugandans.
However, the statement by Kabanda does not by itself constitute a formal declaration of candidature or establish the legal process through which Muhoozi would seek the presidency.
The revelation is likely to intensify debate over Uganda’s political succession, the future leadership of the NRM and the role of the military in the country’s political affairs.
