Uganda’s military establishment has announced the immediate suspension of all defence and military cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany, citing alleged subversive activities by Germany’s ambassador in Kampala, Mathias Schauer.
Colonel Chris Magezi, acting director of defence public information for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), confirmed the decision in a public statement posted on X (formerly Twitter). He said the move follows “credible intelligence” linking Ambassador Schauer to “hostile pseudo-political groups” said to be operating within Uganda.
“The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has, with immediate effect, suspended all ongoing defence and military cooperation activities with the Federal Republic of Germany,” Magezi stated.
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“The decision is in response to credible intelligence reports that the current German Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Mathias Schauer, is actively engaged in subversive activities in the country. The suspension will remain in force until the full resolution of the matter of the Ambassador’s involvement with hostile pseudo-political-military forces operating in the country against the Ugandan government.”
While the UPDF did not release specific details about the nature of the alleged subversive acts, the language of the statement reflects serious concern over the diplomat’s conduct. No evidence has yet been publicly presented to substantiate the claims.
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General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s chief of defence forces and son of the country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, echoed the accusations in a separate post on X. Distancing the German nation from the controversy, he placed the blame squarely on the individual diplomat.
“We are having some issues with the current German Ambassador to Uganda. It has to do with him as a person,” Gen. Kainerugaba wrote. “He is wholly unqualified to be in Uganda. It has nothing to do with the great German people, whom I admire a lot.”
Bilateral relations under strain
The suspension marks a significant deterioration in relations between Kampala and Berlin, both of whom have long maintained collaborative ties in the areas of defence, development and humanitarian aid.
Germany has been a key partner in Uganda’s security sector reform, peacekeeping initiatives and military training programmes. The sudden halt in cooperation could affect not only security frameworks but also wider diplomatic and developmental engagements between the two nations.
As of Sunday evening, the German government had yet to issue a formal response to the allegations or the UPDF’s decision.
