Ugandan military accuses EU diplomats of engaging in subversive activities

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan military authorities on Friday accused diplomats from Europe of engaging in subversive activities, in an escalation of tensions over European criticism of human rights violations by Uganda's security forces.

Some European diplomats are mobilizing on behalf ''the negative and traitorous groups opposed" to the government of President Yoweri Museveni, the military said in a statement.

The statement singled out the German ambassador, Matthias Schauer, charging that ''the intelligence services are aware about his clearly undiplomatic practices that have been taking place in different parts of the country for some time now."

That statement was issued by Col. Chris Magezi, a close associate of Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the president's son who also serves as Uganda's top military commander.

Kainerugaba's military rise has been a source of concern among Ugandans who believe he is poised to take over from Museveni in a chaotic political transition. Kainerugaba frequently asserts his wish to succeed his father as president of the east African country, alarming Ugandans who don't want to see hereditary rule.

Kainerugaba has gained notoriety most recently for his unpredictable posts on the social platform X. He has threatened to behead Bobi Wine, a prominent opposition figure, and he drew widespread criticism earlier this month for reporting the apparent torture in his ''basement'' of Wine's bodyguard, who was missing at the time.

Schauer, the German ambassador, is among a group of European diplomats who complained about Kainerugaba in a meeting on Thursday with Gen. Salim Saleh, a retired army officer who is Kainerugaba's uncle and an influential member of Uganda's security apparatus. Saleh apologized for Kainerugaba's provocative posts on X, according to reports in the local press.

The strong response from Kainerugaba's press office on Friday marks an escalation in relations between the Ugandan government and diplomats it accuses of meddling.

It was not immediately possible to get a comment from Schauer or Jan Sadek, the top EU diplomat in Uganda.

The EU has repeatedly urged Ugandan authorities to protect civil liberties ahead of presidential elections next year.

Sadek has expressed concern over serious rights violations that include arbitrary detentions and the degrading treatment of political opponents. He spoke of ''an alarming militarization of the political sphere'' in a speech earlier in May.

"The use of military force against civilians, with apparent impunity, contradicts the principles of the rule of law,'' he said.

Museveni, who first took power by force in 1986, is serving his sixth term. He will seek re-election in polls set for January 2026.

Many Ugandans expect an unpredictable political transition because the 80-year-old Museveni has no obvious successor within the ranks of the ruling National Resistance Movement party, with real power concentrated in a strong military and powerful intelligence system. Some observers fear that Museveni may step aside in favor of Kainerugaba in a bloodless coup.

A long-time opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been jailed since November over alleged treason charges his lawyers say are politically motivated. Besigye, a qualified physician who retired from Uganda's military at the rank of colonel, is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda's most prominent opposition group.

Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of political power since independence from the British in 1962.