A Kenyan blogger announced yesterday that Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the incoming Commander of Land Forces, was ill and admitted in Nairobi. Several other fake news vendors shared the post while others claimed he had died.
On Monday morning, Muhoozi responded to the false news saying it is not the first time his enemies announced him as dead.
Muhoozi who is also the Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations and outgoing Commander of the Special Forces (SFC), said he had learnt of the fake news from his friend Alan Kasujja, a BBC correspondent.
He said God blesses him instead whenever he is announced as dead.
“Some friends of mine like @kasujja told me that some enemies were declaring me dead, or very ill from Covid-19. I’m very well. This is the third time in my military career that enemies are claiming I’m dead. The funny thing is every time they do that, Almighty God blesses me more,” Muhoozi tweeted.
It has become the habit of several fake news vendors to declare Ugandan leaders and members of the business community as dead.
On Saturday night, viral alarmist posts claimed President Museveni had been airlifted to Germany for treatment while others claimed his helicopter has been seen in Nairobi delivering him to the Kenyan capital for treatment.
The following day on Sunday 28 June, the President officiated the virtual World Health Summit partly hosted physically at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The same day Hajj Bulaimu Kibirige, commonly known as BMK and the proprietor of Hotel Africana, was announced as dead.
Hotel Africana, in a tweet, dismissed the announcement as fake.
Fake News is given traction by unsuspecting Ugandans who fall for it as true and share it on WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms. It affects families and friends of the targeted individuals.
Falsely announcing fellow human beings as dead is against the culture and customs of the Ugandan people and Africans in general. Individuals who partake in such acts are referred to as witches.