Uganda pulling out of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, says military chief

Uganda is pulling out of the Invictus Games, a sports event for wounded military veterans run by the Duke of Sussex, only two months after the country said it would join.

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, chief of defence and son of the president, made the announcement in a social media post on X.

He said the decision to withdraw from the games was “in order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III”.

Ugandan government spokesman Alan Kasujja confirmed this to the BBC: “General Kainerugaba decides whether or not the UPDF [Uganda People’s Defence Force] participates in the Invictus Games. What you saw is his stated position. If it changes, he will let the world know.”

The Ugandan military chief’s announcement follows a letter sent this week on behalf of the King which made clear that Prince Harry and Meghan, who have now returned to the UK, were not working royals.

A source close to the Sussexes said that Uganda’s withdrawal from the games was a consequence of that letter, which had been shared with the media.

“Sadly, the only people who will suffer are the Invictus Games competitors,” said the source.

A report in The Times newspaper quoted the general’s concerns about the “Harry-Meghan nonsense”, suggesting this was the background to the decision.

“In order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games,” said the general in an overnight post.

“We shall not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty’s approval.”

However, royal sources have said that the King encourages all projects which support wounded service personnel.

A spokesman for the Invictus Games said they had not received any official information about a potential withdrawal and have been seeking clarification from their contacts in Uganda.

Among other posts on X from General Kainerugaba on Thursday was one that read: “I consider myself the most handsome, most daring and glorious Commander who ever lived.”

There was also a series of angry messages about other generals who had danced without his permission.

The participation of Uganda in the next games, to be held next year in Birmingham, was announced in July, when Prince Harry was in London promoting the sports event, which celebrates the resilience and rehabilitation of wounded military men and women.