By Our Reporter
In a significant diplomatic engagement on Friday, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni held a high-level meeting with Germany’s Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Matthias Schauer, at the State Lodge in Nakasero. The discussion centered around deepening bilateral cooperation in vital sectors such as trade, technology, investment, and sports development.
Both parties reaffirmed their countries’ shared commitment to building a partnership anchored in mutual respect and sustainable development. Ambassador Schauer lauded Uganda’s openness to dialogue and thanked the President for the warm reception and his visionary approach to development and diplomacy.
However, while the meeting projected an image of stability and constructive engagement, it also took place under the shadow of a simmering diplomatic tension between the German envoy and First Son and Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba — a feud that has become increasingly public over the past months.
The tensions date back to a series of thinly veiled criticisms and social media exchanges, where Gen. Muhoozi openly accused some Western envoys, particularly Ambassador Schauer, of overstepping diplomatic boundaries and promoting what he called “neo-colonial interference in African affairs.”
Friday’s meeting between Museveni and Schauer, therefore, served not just as a bilateral conversation about development — but also as a quiet reset, potentially aimed at smoothing over political fault lines. Though the issue of the Muhoozi-Schauer row was not publicly mentioned, diplomatic observers believe the President’s gesture was a calculated effort to maintain Uganda’s critical ties with Germany, one of its top development partners and a key player in European-African relations.
Germany has long supported Uganda in areas such as vocational training, climate resilience, renewable energy, and refugee response. The latest dialogue suggests that despite recent frictions, both Kampala and Berlin are keen on preserving a functional and forward-looking relationship.
As Uganda approaches a politically charged period ahead of the 2026 elections — and with Gen. Muhoozi widely expected to play a prominent role — the balancing act between diplomacy and internal politics will likely remain delicate. For now, however, Museveni’s engagement with Ambassador Schauer appears to be a step toward steadying the boat, reaffirming Uganda’s place in the global diplomatic arena while keeping one eye on the turbulent undercurrents beneath.