Uganda’s military chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has added his father’s surname to his name, a move that comes as he steps up his political profile and declares his intention to seek the presidency in 2031.
“From now on my name is Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni. MKM,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
The announcement immediately adds a new dimension to the public identity of the son of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.
Muhoozi has for years been known simply as Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the initials MK becoming closely associated with his political mobilisation efforts.
His new formulation ‘MKM’ incorporates the surname that has dominated Uganda’s political landscape for four decades.
It comes just weeks after Muhoozi publicly declared that he intends to run for president in 2031.
His political organisation, the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), has since begun mobilising support and collecting endorsements for his bid.
The timing has made the name change particularly significant.
Muhoozi is not only the President’s son. He is Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and chairs PLU, giving him a prominent position in both the country’s security establishment and its emerging political succession debate.
His 2031 ambition was announced after the January 2026 election in which his father secured another term in office. Muhoozi’s political supporters have subsequently portrayed him as a potential successor, while questions remain over how the transition within the ruling National Resistance Movement will ultimately be handled.
From MK to MKM
The change from MK to MKM may be only one letter, but it carries an obvious political association.
The name Muhoozi Kainerugaba has been used to build a distinct public identity through the MK Movement and later PLU.
The addition of Museveni now explicitly connects that identity to the family name of the president and NRM leader.
Muhoozi has never hidden his close relationship with his father. His statements on X frequently refer to Museveni as “Mzee” and emphasise their family and political history.
But Sunday’s announcement goes further: the family name is now part of the name by which he says he wants to be publicly known.
That is happening as PLU expands its activities ahead of 2031. The organisation has held endorsement drives involving politicians, business figures and other supporters, although its officials have said a formal presidential campaign would come only after Muhoozi leaves the military and formally accepts the endorsements.
A name, and a political message
There is no indication that the X post itself amounts to a formal legal change of name.
But politically, it is difficult to separate the announcement from the succession debate surrounding Muhoozi.
For supporters, the adoption of the Museveni name can be seen as an open embrace of his family’s political history.
For critics, it is likely to renew questions about the role of family and the military in Uganda’s political transition.
Those are competing interpretations, rather than established consequences of the announcement.
What is clear is that Muhoozi’s political identity is changing rapidly.
Once primarily known as the President’s son and a rising military officer, he is now openly positioning himself for a presidential contest in 2031.
And the initials have changed with him.
MK is now MKM.
The addition of one name has placed the Museveni family name directly inside the political identity of the man who says he wants to lead Uganda after his father.
For a country where the question of succession has increasingly moved to the centre of political debate, that makes three letters MKM worth watching.
