Uganda ‘pulls out of Invictus’ over ‘Harry-Meghan nonsense’, military chief says

Uganda has pulled out of the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games, saying it will “not participate in anything” that does not have the King’s “approval”, according to the country’s military chief.General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is known for his controversial posts on social media, made the declaration a day after the monarch issued guidelines by letter that Harry and the Duchess of Sussex were “private citizens”.In what is seen as a sign of growing tensions between the Sussex camp and the Royal Household, Team Sussex, who were given around an hour’s notice of the Lord Chamberlain’s letter, did not have time to clarify any of the points, with Harry and Meghan said to prefer the phrase “public figures”.General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said he wanted to ‘quash’ any support for that ‘Harry-Meghan nonsense’ (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA WireThe General told The Times the decision to withdraw from the sporting competition was made to quash support in the military for “that Harry-Meghan nonsense”, adding: “I support the monarch. Period.”The Invictus Games Foundation is said to be looking into the matter, the Press Association understands.Harry is staging his tournament for injured, sick or wounded former and still-serving service personnel in Birmingham next year, and is said to want the King to attend its opening ceremony.Uganda was proudly unveiled as the latest member of the Invictus family in a London ceremony involving the duke just two months ago – becoming only the second African nation to join after Nigeria.The foundation, which hailed the country’s inclusion as “another important step in the growth of the Invictus movement”, has since funded new sports and adaptive equipment to help kickstart sports recovery in Uganda.Charles, who has had a troubled relationship with his youngest son in the past, was at Harry’s side for the inaugural Invictus Games in London in 2014.The King, who is head of the armed forces, is said to encourage all organisations and endeavours in support of wounded service personnel.The General wrote on X: “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.Read More“We shall not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty’s approval.”Past posts from the son of the Ugandan president have included calling on American rapper Jay-Z to hand over his superstar wife Beyonce in a one-week ultimatum, and utterings such as “Sleep? That’s something women do a lot?”.