The simmering tension between Uganda’s First Son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and international media has boiled over into a full-blown digital blockade. In a move that has set social media ablaze, Gen. Muhoozi has blocked CNN correspondent Larry Madowo on X (formerly Twitter) after a heated exchange regarding threats to opposition leader Bobi Wine.

The "tweef" (Twitter beef) began when Madowo highlighted a chilling tweet by Muhoozi, in which the General threatened to "extinguish" the National Unity Platform (NUP). Madowo, known for his no-nonsense reporting, quoted the tweet, questioning the democratic implications of such military threats. The General’s response was visceral: a barrage of insults followed by the ultimate digital excommunication—the block button.

#HandsOffLarry

The incident triggered an immediate backlash from Kenyans on Twitter (KOT), a digital army known for its ferocity. The hashtag #HandsOffLarry trended within hours, with netizens defending the journalist and criticizing Muhoozi’s intolerance for scrutiny.

• The Insult: Before blocking him, Muhoozi referred to Madowo as "that CNN boy," a diminutive slur that was widely condemned as unprofessional for a high-ranking military officer.
• The Pattern: This is not Muhoozi’s first rodeo. His erratic late-night tweets have previously threatened an invasion of Nairobi and caused diplomatic headaches for his father, President Yoweri Museveni.
• The Impact: Blocking a journalist of Madowo’s stature draws more attention to the very issue Muhoozi sought to bury—the shrinking civic space in Uganda.

A Diplomatic Headache

While the spat plays out in memes and hashtags, the underlying currents are serious. Muhoozi is seen as the heir-apparent to the Ugandan presidency. His hostility towards free press and international scrutiny raises alarm bells for the future of democracy in the region. "If he cannot handle a tweet from Larry, how will he handle the scrutiny of a presidency?" asked a Kampala-based political analyst.

For now, Madowo remains blocked, but the screenshots live on forever. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the clash between old-guard authoritarianism and the new digital age of accountability.