Fifty Years After Entebbe: Uganda Unveils a Statue to Yoni Netanyahu, and Muhoozi Reaches for Israel

On the same tarmac where he was shot dead leading Israeli commandos into one of history's most audacious hostage rescues, Uganda has now placed a bronze statue in his memory. The unveiling, on the fiftieth anniversary of the raid, closes a remarkable circle: the country whose dictator once sheltered the hijackers is today, under a very different leadership, commissioning a monument to the Israeli officer who died freeing their captives.

The ceremony at the old terminal
Uganda's military unveiled a monument to Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed during the 1976 hostage rescue operation at Entebbe. The statue, depicting Netanyahu holding an assault rifle, was unveiled on Saturday, August 1, 2026, at the old terminal of Entebbe International Airport by Uganda's military chief, Gen.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Speaking at the event, Kainerugaba described the memorial as standing not only in remembrance of a distinguished soldier but as a tribute to the values he embodied courage in the face of danger, commitment to protecting innocent lives, and steadfast devotion to duty.

Kainerugaba also named the civilian hostages who lost their lives during the crisis, including Jean-Jacques Maimoni, Pasco Cohen, Ida Borochovitch and Dora Bloch, telling the gathering that their memory remained an important part of the solemn history being marked. Among those attending the ceremony were members of an Israeli delegation, including Barak Orland, a businessman based in Uganda.

What happened at Entebbe in 1976
The crisis began when an Air France Airbus that had taken off from Tel Aviv on June 27, 1976 and stopped in Athens was seized by four hijackers two Palestinians from a faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two Germans from the Revolutionary Cells. The hijackers forced the aircraft to fly first to Libya to refuel and then on to Uganda, where Dictator Idi Amin welcomed them, and once on the ground they separated dozens of Jewish and Israeli passengers from the rest, threatening to kill the hostages unless Israel released dozens of Palestinian and other prisoners. The hijackers had originally demanded $5 million alongside the release of 53 pro-Palestinian prisoners.

After a week of tense negotiations, Israeli commandos stormed the airport overnight between July 3 and July 4, 1976, in a mission to rescue the 106 passengers who remained held hostage. Netanyahu, who commanded the elite rescue force, was killed during the operation an event later commemorated by Israel renaming the mission "Operation Yonatan" in his memory.

A monument born of a promise, and a dream

The statue did not appear without warning. Kainerugaba had signalled the plan months earlier in a series of pro-Israel statements on social media, revealing in February that Uganda would erect a statue of Netanyahu at the historic airport. He has said that his God, Jesus Christ, instructed him to build the monument during a dream a detail that has featured prominently in coverage of the dedication.

Kainerugaba's call for stronger Uganda-Israel ties

The ceremony was as much a statement of present-day alignment as a tribute to the past. Kainerugaba told the gathering that unveiling the monument at the very site where Netanyahu lost his life was both historic and significant, describing the courage and ultimate sacrifice of the Israeli commander as an enduring symbol of bravery. He noted that the events of July 1976 occurred during one of the darkest periods in Uganda's own history, contrasting that era with today's Uganda, which he described as a constitutional democracy committed to peaceful coexistence and engagement with the international community.

Reaffirming bilateral ties, Kainerugaba said the friendship between Uganda and Israel extends well beyond the events of 1976, pointing to a long relationship built on mutual respect and practical cooperation between the two countries. He framed the two nations' good relations as longstanding, founded on mutual respect and cooperation that predate and outlast the events being commemorated.

Kainerugaba's own rising profile
The general delivering this message is no ordinary military spokesman. Kainerugaba is the eldest child of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and is widely seen as a possible successor following his father's re-election earlier this year. He had confirmed his own presidential ambitions as far back as 2023, declaring his intention to stand for Uganda's presidency and positioning himself as heir to a leader who has ruled the country for nearly four decades. His high-profile embrace of Israel capped by a monument he says came to him in a dream fits a broader pattern of the general using foreign policy gestures to raise his own international and domestic profile ahead of an eventual succession contest in Kampala.

A fraught inheritance
For Uganda, the statue represents a striking act of historical reckoning: a nation confronting the memory of a dictator who armed and sheltered hijackers, now honoring the soldier who died opposing them. For Israel, it is another marker of warming ties with an African state at a moment when Jerusalem has been working to deepen partnerships across the continent. And for Muhoozi Kainerugaba, it is one more entry in a long list of gestures some solemn, some theatrical through which Uganda's army chief continues to build a political identity distinct from, yet dependent on, his father's decades in power.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References:
ABC News, "Uganda's military unveils statue of Netanyahu's brother who died in 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue" https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/ugandas-military-unveils-statue-netanyahus-brother-died-1976-135319708

Yahoo News, "Ugandan military honours Netanyahu's brother with Entebbe memorial statue" https://nz.news.yahoo.com/ugandan-military-honours-netanyahu-brother-152946946.html

Times of Israel, "Statue of Yoni Netanyahu unveiled at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, 50 years after rescue" https://www.timesofisrael.com/statue-of-yoni-netanyahu-unveiled-at-ugandas-entebbe-airport-50-years-after-raid/

Watchdog Uganda, "Gen. Muhoozi Unveils Yoni Netanyahu Memorial at Old Entebbe Terminal, Reaffirms Uganda-Israel Relations," August 1, 2026 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20260801/195723/gen-muhoozi-unveils-yoni-netanyahu-memorial-at-old-entebbe-terminal-reaffirms-uganda-israel-relations.html

JNS, "Uganda inaugurates bronze statue of Yonatan Netanyahu" https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/uganda-inaugurates-bronze-statue-of-yonatan-netanyahu

Washington Post, "Uganda's military unveils statue of Netanyahu's brother who died in 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/08/03/uganda-israel-netanyahu-monument-entebbe-yonatan-kainerugaba/c2129bf0-8f2b-11f1-9fdc-0a725c989a7b_story.html

Al Jazeera, "Son of long-serving Museveni to run for Uganda presidency in 2026" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/16/son-of-ugandas-president-says-to-stand-for-leadership-in-2026