Uganda’s army chief says Kampala took the Gaza mission “because everybody else was running away”

Uganda’s army chief says Kampala took the Gaza mission “because everybody else was running away.” Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, posted Friday evening: “We as Ugandans have accepted the Gaza mission, because everybody else was running away. May our God help us!!!” The post came hours after fresh reporting that Uganda is […]

Uganda’s army chief says Kampala took the Gaza mission “because everybody else was running away.”

Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, posted Friday evening: 

“We as Ugandans have accepted the Gaza mission, because everybody else was running away. May our God help us!!!”

The post came hours after fresh reporting that Uganda is preparing to send about 1,200 UPDF troops to Gaza in October as part of the U.S.-backed International Stabilisation Force (ISF). Parliament approved the deployment earlier this month after Washington asked President Museveni to contribute.

Uganda is among a small group of countries (with Morocco, Albania, Kosovo, Kazakhstan and others) that have publicly committed troops after larger or more traditional contributors hesitated or delayed. The force is meant to help monitor a ceasefire, protect a planned humanitarian zone, and support disarmament and security arrangements after years of war.

Muhoozi has repeatedly and publicly sided with Israel in religious and political terms. That record has already drawn criticism from Ugandan commentators who argue it undercuts any claim that UPDF troops would be seen as neutral in Gaza.

The mission would be Uganda’s first major Middle East deployment and follows years of UPDF service in Somalia and other African operations. Officials have framed it as both a peacekeeping contribution and a demonstration that Uganda remains a reliable partner to the United States.

No official troop numbers, exact start date, or rules of engagement have been published by the UPDF beyond the parliamentary approval and the general’s latest post.