MASAKA — State Minister for Local Government and Masaka City Woman MP Justine Nameere has publicly apologised to Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba following a tense public dispute that has exposed fresh divisions within the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
The apology comes days after Muhoozi, who is also PLU chairman and Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, demanded that Nameere apologise to him within seven days.
On September 16, Muhoozi said through his X account that he was giving Nameere seven days to apologise, warning that failure to do so would have consequences. The ultimatum followed a dispute surrounding a video clip that appeared to show Nameere making critical remarks directed at Muhoozi.
However, subsequent reporting indicated that a longer version of the video showed Nameere addressing PLU Secretary General and Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda rather than Muhoozi.
The controversy nevertheless escalated after the shorter version circulated publicly, prompting Muhoozi to warn that Nameere could be removed from Cabinet if she continued to “misbehave.”
“If Nameere is misbehaving, it’s a very simple problem. We shall remove her from the cabinet. That’s a very simple thing,” Muhoozi wrote on September 15.
The latest apology therefore marks a significant shift in a dispute that had threatened to deepen tensions within the PLU camp.
Kabanda has also become a central figure in the disagreement after publicly questioning Nameere’s election as Masaka City Woman MP.
According to reports, Kabanda argued that Nameere did not win the seat genuinely and called for a fresh parliamentary election.
“She didn’t win genuinely. The people of Masaka City deserve a by-election,” Kabanda wrote, according to Pulse Uganda.
The disagreement over Nameere’s parliamentary seat comes as the minister faces a separate legal challenge from National Unity Platform candidate Rose Nalubowa.
Nalubowa initially emerged as the winner of the Masaka City Woman MP race after the January 2026 elections, with the Electoral Commission declaring her ahead of Nameere.
Nameere challenged the result, leading to a court-supervised recount. The recount subsequently overturned the initial declaration and resulted in Nameere being declared the winner with 25,502 votes, while Nalubowa received 23,176 votes.
Nalubowa has challenged the recount in court, arguing that the process that produced Nameere’s victory should be scrutinised.
The Masaka High Court has scheduled the petition for September 22, 2026. Lawyers for Nalubowa have told court that they want the legality of the recount that resulted in Nameere’s victory determined.
Nameere’s legal battle is therefore unfolding at the same time as the political dispute surrounding her relationship with senior PLU figures.
The controversy has also been complicated by another viral video involving Nameere and claims surrounding former Speaker Anita Among. Nameere previously told Muhoozi that a clip suggesting she was planning a celebration for Among had been edited from an older recording. She said the original video was about business opportunities associated with the swearing-in season.
The series of disputes has placed Nameere under intense public scrutiny as she balances her role as a government minister, an elected legislator and a figure within the PLU political structure.
Her apology to Muhoozi could now ease one aspect of the confrontation, but the broader disagreements surrounding her parliamentary victory and her relationship with PLU officials remain matters of public and judicial interest.
With the Masaka High Court scheduled to consider Nalubowa’s petition on September 22, attention will now turn to the courtroom, where the legality of the recount that transformed the electoral outcome will come under scrutiny.
For the PLU, meanwhile, the episode highlights the increasingly public nature of disagreements among its senior figures, with Nameere’s apology adding another dramatic chapter to a dispute that has already moved from social media exchanges to questions over Cabinet membership, party discipline and the legitimacy of a parliamentary seat.
