SERERE — The political rivalry in Serere District has entered a fresh and potentially sensitive phase, with the name of Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba being drawn into an escalating social media battle involving Woman Member of Parliament Esther Lucy Acom.
A series of online publications circulating in recent weeks have sought to portray Acom as being opposed to Gen. Muhoozi and his political ambitions ahead of 2031.
Acom has strongly rejected the claims, describing the publications as a deliberate attempt to create political tension between her and the CDF while reviving old political divisions in Serere.
The legislator says she has a cordial relationship with Gen. Muhoozi and dismissed suggestions that she is involved in any campaign against him.
“I am in very good relationship with my brother Gen. Muhoozi and working together with him in supporting one another. Those spreading hatred are the enemies of Gen. Muhoozi,” Acom said.
She further accused her political opponents of using social media to frustrate her political progress after her victory in the January 2026 general elections.
“I know my opponents are not sleeping day and night by creating different drama. However, I am busy concentrating on doing my legislative role. I am happy that we are working around the clock to have them arrested and brought to book,” she said.
The controversy comes against the background of a bitter political contest between Acom and former State Minister for Fisheries Hellen Adoa.
Acom challenged Adoa during the previous electoral cycle and eventually defeated her in the January 2026 election, producing a significant change in Serere’s political leadership.
The political rivalry has remained visible after the election, with supporters of the competing camps continuing to exchange accusations on social media.
Acom’s supporters now argue that the latest publications represent an attempt to exploit that rivalry by attaching the MP to statements and political positions that she says do not represent her views.
The involvement of Gen. Muhoozi’s name has made the dispute more sensitive because it risks turning a local political disagreement into a broader political and security narrative.
However, the allegations circulating online have not, on the evidence publicly presented so far, established that Acom authorised, financed or participated in the publications portraying her as hostile to Gen. Muhoozi.
The key question therefore becomes who authored and sponsored the disputed material.
Any investigation would need to establish the identities behind the accounts, the origin of the publications, communications between the alleged actors and any evidence of coordination or financing before conclusions can responsibly be drawn.
The controversy also highlights the increasingly influential role of social media in Uganda’s political disputes, where anonymous accounts and online platforms can rapidly amplify allegations before they are independently verified.
For Acom, the campaign is part of what she describes as continued efforts by political opponents to undermine her after their electoral setback.
Her supporters argue that her victory altered the political balance in Serere and that attempts to associate her with hostility toward Gen. Muhoozi are aimed at weakening her relationship with influential political and security actors.
That interpretation, however, remains an allegation and should be tested against evidence.
The dispute has also created a wider call for restraint. Political disagreements are legitimate in a democratic society, but fabricated information, impersonation and deliberate manipulation of social media can create consequences far beyond the original political contest.
Acom’s message remains that she should be judged by her public record and statements rather than publications attributed to anonymous or unidentified actors.
She insists that her relationship with Gen. Muhoozi remains cordial and that she has no interest in creating political conflict with him.
As the controversy unfolds, attention is now shifting from the competing political narratives to the evidence behind the disputed publications: who wrote them, who circulated them and whether there was an organised effort to manufacture a confrontation between Acom and Gen. Muhoozi.
For Serere, the episode is another indication that the political battles of the 2025–2026 election period are far from disappearing, and that the next battlefield may be the digital space.
