Off the ballot, Ugandan president’s son waits in the wings this election

One figure looms large ahead of Uganda’s elections Thursday, although he is not on the ballot: the president’s son and military commander, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Kainerugaba, long believed to be the eventual successor, stood down for his father, President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term that would bring him closer to five decades in power.

Yet Kainerugaba, a four-star general, remains a key figure in Ugandan politics as the chief enforcer of his father’s rule in this east African country. He is the top military commander, appointed by his father nearly two years ago after Kainerugaba told a political rally he was ready to lead.

Kainerugaba’s appointment as army chief put his political campaign on hold — a least, critics say, for as long as Museveni still wants to stay.

Many Ugandans are now resigned to the prospect of hereditary rule, once vehemently denied by government officials who said