Uganda’s controversial military commander wades into British royal family feud, pulls country from Invictus Games

Uganda’s military commander has pulled the country out of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, turning a dispute within the British royal family into an unexpected foreign policy intervention by one of Africa’s most controversial generals.

• Uganda's military commander General Muhoozi Kainerugaba withdrew the country from Prince Harry's Invictus Games, citing loyalty to King Charles III.
• The withdrawal follows Buckingham Palace's reiteration that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are private citizens and not working royals.
• Uganda joined the Invictus Games community only two months prior, becoming the first East African participant.
• Kainerugaba, son of President Museveni and Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, is a controversial figure with explicit presidential ambitions.

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and son of President Yoweri Museveni, announced the withdrawal on X, saying Uganda would not participate in anything that did not have the approval of King Charles III.

“In order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games,” Kainerugaba said.

The Invictus Games is an international sporting competition founded by Prince Harry in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick serving military personnel and veterans. The event uses adaptive sports to support recovery, rehabilitation and the wider reintegration of participants into civilian life.

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Uganda had only joined the Invictus Games community two months earlier, becoming the first East African country to participate.

The decision came shortly after Buckingham Palace reiterated that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no longer working members of the British royal family and conduct their charitable activities in a private capacity.

Speaking to The Times, Kainerugaba went further, saying he had to suppress factions within Uganda’s Ministry of Defence that supported what he described as “Harry-Meghan nonsense”, adding: “I support the monarch. Period.”

From army chief to potential president

The intervention also puts the spotlight on Kainerugaba, who has become an increasingly powerful and controversial figure in Uganda’s political system.

The 52-year-old general is widely viewed as the preferred successor to his 81-year-old father, who has ruled Uganda since 1986. Kainerugaba has made his presidential ambitions explicit, announcing in August that he intends to run for Uganda’s highest office in 2031.

He said he expected to win the election with his father’s backing. Reuters reported that Kainerugaba had previously announced plans to run in the 2026 election but eventually withdrew.

Museveni appointed his son Chief of Defence Forces in 2024, putting Kainerugaba at the head of the Ugandan military.

His political rise has been accompanied by a highly controversial social-media presence.

In 2022, while commanding Uganda’s land forces, Kainerugaba threatened on social media to invade neighbouring Kenya and capture Nairobi. The comments triggered a diplomatic row and prompted Museveni to apologise to Kenya.

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He has also repeatedly clashed with opposition leader Bobi Wine, Uganda’s most prominent political opponent to the Museveni government. Reuters reported that Kainerugaba played a major role in the security response surrounding his father’s January 2026 re-election.

Kainerugaba has also attracted international attention for provocative comments on conflicts and geopolitical issues, making his social-media statements a recurring source of controversy.

His latest intervention, however, takes the general into an entirely different arena.

By withdrawing Uganda from Harry’s veterans’ sporting event in the name of loyalty to King Charles, Kainerugaba has effectively inserted Uganda’s military establishment into one of the most prominent disputes within the British royal family.

The move also represents a sharp reversal for Uganda, which had only recently presented its participation in the Invictus Games as an opportunity for its wounded service personnel and veterans to join an international community built around recovery and rehabilitation.