Kagame Throws 49th Birthday Banquet for Muhoozi, Seeks Deeper Ties with Uganda

President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame on Monday night hosted Uganda’s first son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and his delegation for his birthday celebration in the capital Kigali.

The senior presidential advisor in charge of special operations travelled to Rwanda on Sunday to celebrate his 49th birthday.

He was escorted by Uganda’s Minister of Security Maj Gen Jim Muhwezi, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, Kitgum district woman MP, Lillian Aber, and journalist Andrew Mwenda.

“You can have peace but at the same time, you may not be friends. We are friends and we are at peace,” said Kagame at the event.

He added: “If you are a lamb, at a certain moment, try to be a lion. Let’s choose the right moment to be the lion that will allow us to be who we are, without being threatened by anyone.”

In his turn, Muhoozi said they moved from President and army officer to becoming friends.

“We went from him being a president and me being an army officer to becoming friends and the mark of friendship was the cows he gave me and I take that very seriously,” he noted.

He said the mark of this friendship was the cows that Kagame gave him.

“I take that very very seriously. And I would like to report, your Excellency, that the cows are doing well. They have produced. You gave me 10 cows and now I have 17 cows from the ones you gave me. So, from that point on, really we became friends with His Excellency.”

On Tuesday, President Kagame received General Muhoozi at Urugwiro Village for discussions on ways to further strengthen friendly relations between Rwanda and Uganda.

Kagame lauded Muhoozi for becoming the bridge for repairing Rwanda-Uganda relations.

President Kagame attended Muhoozi’s 48th birthday last year in Uganda in an event that was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni.