Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) chairman, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has revived plans for a mass demonstration at the Turkish Embassy in Kampala, now setting September 18, 2026 as the new date.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Muhoozi said the demonstration would be held “in full force” and placed PLU Secretary General Twalla Fadhil in charge of organising the action.
“We are demonstrating in full force at the Turkish Embassy on the 18th of September. Hon. Fadhil is in charge of this demonstration. PLU better do a good job.”
Muhoozi further warned that his position on the matter would not change and made a direct threat against people he described as Turkish agents.
“My order will not change this time. Instead we will arrest ANY Turkish agent who says anything different!”
The announcement marks a fresh escalation after an earlier PLU mobilisation targeting the Turkish Embassy failed to materialise on the originally announced date of September 1.
PLU Secretary General Twalla Fadhil subsequently confirmed the new mobilisation, saying it had been ordered by Muhoozi and calling a strategic meeting of the party’s regional and subregional coordinators.
“As instructed by our Chairman Patriotic League of Uganda @mkainerugaba that we hold a full force demonstration at the Turkish Embassy on 18th/September/2026,” Fadhil wrote on X.
He directed PLU coordinators to attend a meeting at the PLU Secretariat in Naguru on Thursday, September 10, at midday to plan for the demonstration.
The renewed protest is part of a months-long confrontation between Muhoozi and Türkiye, primarily over Ugandan blogger and government critic Fred Kajubi Lumbuye, who has been based in Türkiye.
Muhoozi has repeatedly demanded that Turkish authorities hand Lumbuye over to Uganda or expel him from the country. In June, he told Turkish authorities that they should “IMMEDIATELY hand over” Lumbuye or expel him, warning that otherwise Uganda would “fight” Türkiye.
The issue returned to the centre of PLU mobilisation in August, when Muhoozi initially ordered a major demonstration for September 1. PLU mobilisers, including Daudi Kabanda and Fadhil, were tasked with mobilising supporters.
Kabanda subsequently said PLU was ready to “shake Kampala” over what he described as Türkiye’s refusal to hand over Lumbuye.
The September 1 mobilisation, however, did not proceed as originally announced. On September 1, PLU leadership instead publicly focused on launching a nationwide endorsement drive for Muhoozi’s reported 2031 presidential ambitions.
The new September 18 date therefore represents a renewed attempt to take the confrontation to the Turkish diplomatic mission.
Lumbuye’s case is not the only point of friction. Earlier this year, Muhoozi demanded $1 billion from Türkiye, describing it as compensation for Uganda’s contribution to the fight against Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
He also threatened tougher measures against Turkish interests and questioned the future of Türkiye-Uganda diplomatic relations.
He has also announced that Uganda had cancelled the contract awarded to Turkish construction company Yapı Merkezi for the Malaba-Kampala Standard Gauge Railway.
The €2.7 billion contract, equivalent to roughly Shs10.8 trillion at the time of signing, covers about 272–273 kilometres of railway between Malaba and Kampala. It was formally signed by the Ugandan government and Yapı Merkezi in October 2024.
However, reports at the time noted that neither the Ministry of Works and Transport nor the SGR project secretariat had publicly confirmed that Muhoozi’s announcement amounted to a formal legal termination of the contract.
The Turkish government has also previously pushed back against Muhoozi’s rhetoric. Türkiye’s ruling AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik described some of his remarks as “baseless” and said Muhoozi should speak more carefully.
The planned demonstration puts renewed attention on Uganda’s relationship with Türkiye and raises questions about how a dispute involving a senior military officer, a political organisation and a foreign diplomatic mission will be handled.
The Turkish Embassy in Kampala is a diplomatic mission whose premises receive protection under international diplomatic law. Uganda will therefore face the challenge of balancing the right to peaceful assembly with its responsibility to protect the embassy and its personnel.