Ugandan army accuses German envoy of 'subversive activities'

Uganda's army has announced the suspension of all military cooperation with Germany after accusing its ambassador, Matthias Schauer, of being involved in "subversive activities" and of being "wholly unqualified" to be in the East African state.

The army did not back up its claim but its decision signals a sharp deterioration in relations between the two nations.

Rejecting the accusations, a German foreign ministry spokesperson called them "absurd and without any merit", the Reuters news agency reports.

The highly unusual attack on Schauer came after he reportedly raised concerns about army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the president's son, at a meeting last week.

On X recently, the general threatened to behead opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

Gen Kainerugaba also boasted about torturing Wine's bodyguard after detaining him.

Rights groups have long accused the Ugandan government of targeting the opposition, especially in the run-up to elections.

Wine is expected to run against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for nearly four decades, in an election due next year.

Museveni's critics allege that the government is run by a family dynasty - his wife, Janet Museveni is the minister of education, and his brother, Gen Salim Saleh, is the chief coordinator of a government programme known as Operation Wealth Creation.

Gen Saleh held a private meeting with European Union (EU) diplomats last week, where Schauer - Germany's ambassador to Uganda since 2020 - raised concerns about the army chief's controversial tweets, and the "reputational damage" it was causing to Uganda, local media reported.

Gen Kainerugaba hit back with a post on Sunday, saying he was "having issues" with the German ambassador "that has to do with him as a person".

"He is wholly unqualified to be in Uganda. It has nothing to do with the great German people. Whom I admire a lot," he posted.

In a separate statement, army spokesman Col Chris Magezi said Uganda was suspending with immediate effect all defence and military cooperation with Germany because of "credible intelligence reports" that Schauer was involved in "subversive activities".

"The suspension will remain in force until the full resolution of the matter of the Ambassador's involvement with pseudo political-military forces operating in the country against the Ugandan government," the statement added, without giving evidence to substantiate its claims.

On its website, Germany's embassy in Uganda said that bilateral trade between the two nations was worth around $335m (£247m) in 2024, and their relationship was based on "stability and trust".

It did not give details of military cooperation between the two nations.

Uganda is heavily involved in peacekeeping operations, including in Somalia where it is helping to fight armed Islamist groups trying to overthrow the government.

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