By Matik Kueth
The Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) Army Chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said on Sunday that Uganda is planning to bombard Unity State’s Mayom and Leer Counties.
In a post on his X-Platform, Gen. Kainerugaba revealed that the UPDF’s next targets are Mayom and Leer, as directed by President Kiir.
“I bombed Old Fangak as I was directed by Uncle Kiir. I’m waiting to visit Leer County and Mayom,” Gen. Kainerugaba stated, in reference to the Saturday morning bombardment of Old Fangak’s main hospital, which killed four people and severely injured 25 others, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The medical aid agency reported the destruction of the hospital’s pharmacy and the loss of all medical supplies.
Last week, the government labeled Fangak as one of the Nuer’s ‘hostile’ counties because the white army in the area seized government barges and boats that were heading to Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State.
However, Kainerugaba noted that the bombardment is carried out based on President Kiir’s directives.
On March 23, Muhoozi wrote on his X-Platform that he was tired of killing South Sudan’s Nuer tribesmen.
He pointed out that Nuer should surrender before they (UPDF) wipe them out, stressing that if Nuer elders are wise enough, they should give him 1,000 cows to stop killing them.
“I am tired of killing Nuer. Tell your leader, Riek Machar, to come and kneel down before ‘our’ President H.E. Salva Kiir,” Kainerugaba said.
He added, “Dr. Riek Machar is going to kneel down in front of Afande Salva Kiir. I will help him with that. I want the stupid fight to end. Our people do not have to die for this misunderstanding. I also want 1,000 cows from the Nuer.”
Kainerugaba’s statement came after the UPDF bombarded Nasir town several times, causing facility damage, deaths, and civilian displacement in response to the Jikany-Nuer White Army of Nasir County, which overran the SSPDF’s Wech-Yar-Adiu military barrack on March 4, 2025, killing SSPDF commander Lt. Gen. David Majur and 27 other soldiers during a UN helicopter airlift from Nasir’s airstrip.
The aerial bombardment of civilians in Nasir and Ulang counties forced more than 60,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to the United Nations.
On March 11, Gen. Kainerugaba stated that Ugandan troops will go to whatever length to safeguard and secure Juba for President Kiir.
His next move to bombard Mayom and Leer Counties will have an impact on Warrap State, which has been at war with Mayom despite the government’s efforts to resolve the situation.
President Museveni’s son, known for his rants and contentious late-night and early-morning posts on X, has previously infuriated neighboring countries and caused diplomatic spats.
In a controversial post in December in 2024, Kainerugaba said, “I’m going to give only ONE WARNING to ALL white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. From 2nd January 2025, we will attack all mercenaries in our area of operations.”
He stressed that, “In the name of Jesus Christ, the God of all Bachwezi, there shall not be left one white mercenary in DRC this time next year!”
The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) burst into anger by summoning Uganda’s Acting Chargé d’Affaires in Kinshasa, Matata Twaha Magara, to seek clarification on the Ugandan government’s official position on the matter.
On the other hand, on 18 December 2024, Sudan demanded an official apology from the Government of Uganda for what it referred to as the offensive comments published by the Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces on Twitter in which he threatened to seize Khartoum as soon as U.S. President Donald Trump takes office.
However, in response, the Sudan’s Foreign Ministry urged the African Union and regional and international organizations to condemn these words, and what they involve in terms of a clear threat to regional and international security and an insult to Africans.
Gen. Kainerugaba, like many others, later deleted his controversial post.
According to the statement, the Sudanese foreign ministry considered the Ugandan army chief’s comments reckless and irresponsible.
Gen. Kainerugaba has a history in South Sudan, having been involved when the UPDF intervened in the 2013 conflict that erupted between President Kiir and FVP Dr. Riek Machar.
At that time, the Ugandan Foreign Ministry said the UPDF came to protect Juba International Airport and to ensure the evacuation of Ugandans and other nationals.
However, the UPDF later took on a larger mandate, including fighting rebels on the Juba-Bor Road and recapturing Bor town in early January 2014.
Observers accused the UPDF of using cluster bombs against the white army in Mangala Payam in December 2013, as they marched towards Juba.