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Hours before two of Uganda’s largest independent news outlets were forced to suspend operations in June, the man who claimed responsibility for the shutdown did not wait for a government spokesperson, a regulator, or a court to announce the move. He posted the news himself.

“In Uganda, I do not believe in a free press,” Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba—Uganda’s military chief and President Yoweri Museveni’s only son—wrote on social media, adding that he had his father’s blessing to shut down the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda. Soldiers blocked the premises without notice, and the government later attributed the shutdown to a “security-led inquiry” ordered by Museveni.

Hours before two of Uganda’s largest independent news outlets were forced to suspend operations in June, the man who claimed responsibility for the shutdown did not wait for a government spokesperson, a regulator, or a court to announce the move. He posted the news himself.

“In Uganda, I do not believe in a free press,” Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba—Uganda’s military chief and President Yoweri Museveni’s only son—wrote on social media, adding that he had his father’s blessing to shut down the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda. Soldiers blocked the premises without notice, and the government later attributed the shutdown to a “security-led inquiry” ordered by Museveni.

Uganda’s political future has long seemed to depend on the fact that Museveni, who is 81 and has held power since 1986, is grooming his 52-year-old son to succeed him. The recent assault on press freedom demonstrates how political power has already been reorganized around Kainerugaba, who commands the army; chairs the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a ruling party-aligned pressure group; and flouts restrictions on political activity for serving officers.

Though Museveni still governs, politicians are learning how to navigate the man expected to come next. But inheriting the longtime president’s power will not necessarily mean inheriting his legitimacy. It remains unclear whether Kainerugaba can build sufficient support among Ugandans or preserve the foreign partnerships that Museveni has cultivated over four decades.

As Kainerugaba’s role has grown, he has increasingly directed the military to suppress political opposition, civil society, and the press. Museveni was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election on Jan. 15, and security forces killed at least seven people in the unrest that followed. Museveni’s main rival, Bobi Wine, went into hiding after soldiers raided his home the day after the vote.

Kainerugaba threatened Wine and his supporters in since-deleted social media posts. In one, he said security forces had killed 22 Wine supporters, writing, “I’m praying the 23rd is Kabobi,” a derogatory nickname for Wine. In July, Wine told radio program The World that security forces raided his home for a second time, assaulting his wife and family, on Jan. 23.

Other opposition activists have been abducted, held incommunicado, or imprisoned—a trend that has intensified in recent months—with detentions often endorsed by Kainerugaba on social media. In one high-profile example, Kizza Besigye, who ran........

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