At the site of his death: Yoni Netanyahu's statue unveiled in Entebbe
The Ugandan army commander unveiled a monument honoring Yoni Netanyahu at the old Entebbe airport terminal. The statue stands at the site where the commander of the 1976 hostage rescue operation was killed, marking a gesture of strengthened ties with Israel.
Almost five months after presenting the initiative, the commander of the Ugandan army, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, unveiled the completed monument in memory of Yoni Netanyahu on Saturday, located in the old terminal of Entebbe Airport.
Photos released by Kainerugaba show the statue displayed at the exact spot where Netanyahu was killed while commanding the 1976 hostage rescue operation. The army commander, son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, presented the monument as an expression of the close ties between his country and Israel.
Kainerugaba, who has effectively ruled the country since 1986, promised to erect the statue back in February as part of a series of pro-Israel posts. Among other things, he declared he would assist Israel in its war against Iran and claimed that one Ugandan army brigade could conquer Tehran within two weeks. In March, he published a visualization of the statue with the caption: "God bless Uganda and Israel."
In his speech at the ceremony, Kainerugaba addressed the Ugandan soldiers killed during the 1976 operation, stating that while they believed they were fighting for a just cause, they were actually serving the dictatorial regime of Idi Amin, who, he said, "did not represent the Ugandan people at all." He added that today's Uganda is committed to coexistence and international cooperation. Amin, known as the "Butcher of Uganda," ruled the country from 1971 to 1979 and cooperated with the kidnappers during the hostage crisis.
However, the political reality in Uganda remains complex. Museveni has led the country for nearly four decades amid ongoing accusations of suppressing the opposition.
His son, Kainerugaba, is considered a controversial figure and his likely successor. He frequently makes provocative statements on social media and has been involved in various scandals. In 2022, he publicly threatened to invade Kenya, leading to a diplomatic crisis that ended with his father's apology and Kainerugaba's dismissal as commander of the land forces. In another instance, he was accused of kidnapping and torturing the bodyguard of opposition leader Bobi Wine.
Wine himself lost to Museveni in the January 2026 elections, alleged fraud, and fled into exile. Another senior opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, has been in detention since November 2024 on treason charges. This week, the 70-year-old Besigye collapsed during his trial in Kampala and, according to his wife, remains unconscious in the intensive care unit.
Yoni Netanyahu, the older brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commanded the Sayeret Matkal forces in the operation to free over a hundred hostages held at Entebbe. He was the only Israeli soldier killed in the mission, which was later named in his honor as "Operation Yonatan."
