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Tag: President Yoweri Museveni

  • Uganda protest: Organisers are “playing with fire” – President Yoweri Museveni

    Uganda protest: Organisers are “playing with fire” – President Yoweri Museveni

    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has cautioned protesters that they would be “playing with fire” if they proceed with their planned anti-corruption march to parliament on Tuesday.

    Young Ugandans, driven by a desire to combat corruption in government, have been organizing the march via social media.

    They have drawn inspiration from similar demonstrations in neighboring Kenya, where mass protests forced President William Ruto to abandon his tax hike plans and eventually led to calls for his resignation.

    In a televised address, President Museveni warned that the planned protest would not be tolerated by the government.

    “We are busy producing wealth… and you here want to disturb us. You are playing with fire because we cannot allow you to disturb us,” he said.

    Critics accuse President Museveni of ruling Uganda with an iron fist since he assumed power in 1986, while his supporters commend him for maintaining stability in the East African nation.

    Museveni also alleged that some of the protest organizers were “always working with foreigners” to incite unrest in Uganda, though he did not provide further details.

    Earlier, the police had announced that they had denied permission for the march to proceed. Despite this, one of the leading figures of the protest told AFP news agency that they plan to move forward with the demonstration.

    “We don’t need police permission to carry out a peaceful demonstration. It is our constitutional right,” Louez Aloikin Opolose was quoted as saying.

    Earlier this year, both the UK and US governments imposed sanctions on Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, Anita Annet Among, following accusations of corruption. Among has denied these allegations. The sanctions prevent her from traveling to the UK and the US, and the UK has also imposed an asset freeze on her.

    The UK has previously enacted similar sanctions against two ministers who were dismissed by President Museveni over corruption claims. Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu are facing charges related to a scandal involving the theft of metal roofing sheets meant for vulnerable communities in the north-eastern Karamoja region. Both have pleaded not guilty.

    In Kenya, President William Ruto has called for an end to the widespread protests against his administration, declaring “enough is enough.” These protests, the largest since Ruto’s election in 2022, are scheduled to continue on Tuesday with demands for his resignation and an end to what activists describe as poor governance.

    At a rally in western Bomet County, Ruto challenged the anonymous protest organizers to reveal their motives, questioning what their violence would accomplish. Last month, some protesters stormed the parliament, setting parts of it on fire and stealing the mace, a symbol of legislative authority.

    While organizers claim their protests have been largely peaceful, they accuse police and military forces of responding with excessive force, resulting in at least 50 deaths and 413 injuries since the protests began on June 18, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

    Opposition leader Raila Odinga has shown support for the protesters, demanding justice for the victims before engaging in talks with the government.

    His stance could potentially hinder Ruto’s efforts to include opposition members in his cabinet, a strategy aimed at resolving the ongoing youth-led protests.

  • Meaningless and a waste of time – Museveni responds to Uganda’s ousting from US trade pact

    Meaningless and a waste of time – Museveni responds to Uganda’s ousting from US trade pact

    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has declared that external efforts to exert pressure on his country are ineffective, responding more than a week after Uganda was ousted from a significant US-Africa trade initiative.

    The United States initially issued a threat to impose sanctions on Uganda and remove it from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade agreement in May, following the passage of a contentious anti-homosexuality law in the East African nation.

    The law imposes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.

    “For now, those who put pressure on us, they’re wasting their time. And we don’t have to worry ourselves about that,” President Museveni said in a national address on Tuesday, speaking out for the first time since the expulsion took effect.

    “What we should concentrate on is to fight corruption among ourselves. These are the real problems. Not foreign pressure, because that one has no meaning,” he added.

    Mr. Museveni emphasised Uganda’s commitment to engaging in trade with international partners who “respect” the country. This statement comes against the backdrop of Uganda reinforcing its stringent anti-homosexuality law in August of last year, a move that led to the World Bank suspending funding to the nation.

    The bank justified its decision by stating that the law directly “contradicts” the values upheld by the organisation.

  • Ugandan official accuses World Bank of using coercion

    Ugandan official accuses World Bank of using coercion

    President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda claims that the World Bank is trying “to coerce” his country’s government into changing its anti-LGBT laws.

    It comes after the lender’s declaration that it will stop making new loans to the nation because the law prohibiting same-sex relationships goes against its core principles.

    However, in a message distributed over social media, according to President Museveni, “Loans or no loans, Uganda will develop.”

    He expressed regret that the lender was attempting to “use money to coerce us into giving up our faith, culture, principles, and sovereignty.”

    “They significantly undervalue all Africans. Nobody needs to put any pressure on us; we already know how to address issues in our society. They are issues we have,” he continued.

    However, Mr. Museveni stated that the nation was still in contact with the World Bank “so that they and we avoid this diversion if possible”.

    The death penalty is applied for “aggravated homosexuality” and a 20-year prison sentence is imposed for “promoting” homosexuality under the anti-LGBT law that President Museveni signed in May.

    Human rights organisations from Uganda and around the world have denounced the law. The new law has also been denounced by the UN, the US, and other nations.

    In addition to the US, the World Bank has imposed penalties on Uganda because of its anti-homosexuality law.

  • President Yoweri Museveni contracts COVID

    President Yoweri Museveni contracts COVID

    Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after one of three tests conducted on him came back positive.

    The President revealed during a state of the nation address on Wednesday that he had developed mild cold symptoms, leading him to undergo testing.

    Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary at the health ministry, stated that President Museveni had experienced flu-like symptoms but was in overall good health and would continue to carry out his duties.

    She assured that he would adhere to the standard operating procedures for COVID-19 cases while fulfilling his responsibilities.

    During the peak of the pandemic, Uganda implemented stringent measures to contain the virus, including lengthy curfews and the closure of schools and businesses. However, the country fully reopened in February 2022.

    Ugandan president tests positive for Covid

  • President Museveni of Uganda to send the anti-LGBTQ+ bill back to parliament

    President Museveni of Uganda to send the anti-LGBTQ+ bill back to parliament

    The National Resistance Movement (NRM), the ruling party in Uganda, announced on Thursday that President Yoweri Museveni does not oppose a contentious anti-LGBTQ+ bill and intends to finalise it next week.

    In a press release posted on its website, NRM stated that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni had praised the lawmakers for their stance against homosexuality and had decided to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, into law.

    Museveni has yet to enact the measure into law, and earlier today, following an NRM meeting, he made the decision to bring it back to the legislature for revisions.

    The Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023 would criminalize even identifying as LGBTQ+ and also suggests the death penalty for so-called “aggravated homosexuality.”

    Scientists and academics this week signed an open letter urging Museveni to veto the bill, which has received widespread condemnation from around the world, including from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States’ Secretary of State.

    NRM chief whip Denis Hamson Obua said on Thursday that the anti-LGBTQ+ bill has “in principle” been supported unanimously by the NRM parliamentary caucus, and that “all the punishment contained therein in regards to promotion of homosexuality, to recruitment of homosexuals, to publicizing homosexuality is upheld.”

    According to the NRM press release, Museveni has proposed the bill be amended to offer amnesty “for those who will have come out to be helped not to punish them.”

    “Since we have agreed now, I’m going to return that bill, and you quickly deal with those issues and we sign it,” Museveni said according to the NRM’s press release.

    Museveni is expected to meet the legal affairs committee of parliament and other parties next week to finalize the bill.

    It is already currently illegal to engage in same-sex relations in Uganda under section 145 of the country’s penal code. Same-sex conduct has been deemed “against to the order of nature” in the country and warrants a life sentence in prison.

    The bill was passed almost unanimously by lawmakers in Ugandan parliament last month.

  • Largest act of human terrorism committed in this century was the attack on Gaddafi – Ugandan general

    Largest act of human terrorism committed in this century was the attack on Gaddafi – Ugandan general

    A general from Uganda named Muhoozi Kainerugaba has called the destruction of Libya by western nations in 2011 a crime against humanity.

    On March 13, 2023, Muhoozi—the president of Uganda’s son—tweeted his opinions.

    He also urged Africa to save Libya from collapse, denouncing unnamed western powers for criticizing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRCinsecurity )’s despite their involvement in Libya.

    “The largest crime against humanity committed in the twenty-first century was the destruction of Libya by the West in 2011!
    And these same individuals have the audacity to discuss M23 in the DRC?
    Africa must save Libyans (Africans) from extinction “read the tweet.

    Libya was thrown into a state of insecurity in 2011 after NATO-backed rebels ousted Gaddafi and overthrew the central government.

    Over the last decade, there has been several attempts at establishing a government to steer affairs of the country which at a point was divided between rival forces in the East and an internationally-backed government in the capital, Tripoli.

    One African leader who has consistently lamented the failure of Africans to defend Gaddafi is Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni who is on record as saying Africa failed the late Libyan leader by sitting back as foreigners ousted him.

  • Ukraine’s Zelensky engages Ugandan leader

    Ukraine’s Zelensky engages Ugandan leader

    The Ukrainian presidency announced that President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda had their first meeting.

    President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly discussed his country’s peace initiatives at the UN, according to a tweet.

    He claimed that they also talked about the potential for expanding their mutual relations.

    Zelensky stated that he anticipated close collaboration, particularly in enhancing food security.

    It happened as the 193-member UN General Assembly was debating a motion supported by Ukraine that called for a vote on a resolution to bring about peace in that country.

    The assembly has voted on three resolutions opposing the Russian invasion in the past year, receiving between 140 and 143 votes in favour.

    The latest vote comes just ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

  • Kneeling doctors petition Museveni to run for a seventh term

    Over the weekend, a group of doctors in Uganda caused a stir by kneeling before long-term President Yoweri Museveni and asking him to run for a seventh term.

    The 78-year-old ruler has ruled since 1986. The next general election is scheduled for 2026.

    According to media coverage of the event, the doctors from the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) were attending a patriotism symposium in Kampala when they were led by their leader to kneel before the president.

    Nile Post news site reported that UMA boss Dr Samuel Odongo Oledo praised the president in his speech for transforming the country’s health system and improving the welfare of medical workers.

    He went ahead to ask President Museveni to vie again in 2026 as a presidential candidate, the NTV television station reports.

    The gesture sparked controversy on social media, with many accusing the group of being subservient to politicians.

    But in a tweet, the UMA distanced itself from the gesture, saying it did not “represent modus operandi of the association”.

    It said: “Uganda Medical Association has always engaged with the president through formal, professional ways including appreciating him through our annual awards.”

  • Uganda’s president blasts the West for climate change

    President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has accused Western countries of reprehensible double standards when it comes to climate change commitments.

    Mr Museveni highlighted the partial dismantling of a wind farm in Germany to make way for the expansion of a coal mine in a social media post.

    He stated that the move made a mockery of Western climate commitments.

    The Ugandan leader also said European countries were happy to take Africa’s resources for their own energy needs but were against the development of fossil fuel projects which were for the benefit of Africans.

    Uganda is due to start exporting oil within three years.

    Due to the global energy crisis, some European countries have recently decided to increase coal production – a move heavily criticized by climate change activists.

     

  • Uganda to seek assistance from France in the DR Congo crisis

    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says he plans to invite French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on how to resolve the conflict in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

    “I’m going to write to [Mr] Macron and invite him here to discuss African and world issues, including Europe,” President Museveni told the outgoing French ambassador during a meeting on Monday evening.

    He added: ““I would like really to sit down with Mr Macron and we talk strategically. Europe has nothing to lose if they work well with Africa.”

    DR Congo is battling rebel activity in large swathes of its eastern region. One of the main armed groups there, the M23, has recently made gains against the army to occupy a strategic border town and areas around it in North Kivu province.

    President Macron last month met the leaders of Rwanda and DR Congo on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

    They discussed how to put an end to the activities of armed groups in DR Congo.

     

  • Ebola in Uganda: Two districts have been placed on lockdown for three weeks

    As the government faces an Ebola outbreak, two areas in Uganda have been placed under lockdown for three weeks.

    Bars, nightclubs, houses of worship, and entertainment venues in Mubende and neighbouring Kassanda will be closed, and a curfew will be imposed.

    The move is a U-turn for Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who previously said there was no need for such measures.

    This latest outbreak has killed 19 people among 58 recorded cases.

    However, the real number of deaths and cases may be higher.

    The outbreak began in early September in Mubende, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital Kampala, and has remained the epicentre.

    President Museveni had previously ruled out lockdowns, saying Ebola was not an airborne virus so did not require the same measures as Covid-19.

    But on Saturday he halted all movement in and out of Mubende and Kassanda districts for 21 days.

    Cargo trucks will still be allowed to enter and leave the areas, he said, but all other transport will be stopped.

    “These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola,” he said in a televised address.

    “We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time.”

    The president had already ordered police to arrest anyone suspected of having the virus who refused to isolate.

    And he has forbidden traditional healers from trying to handle cases. In previous outbreaks, healers have been associated with hotspots for the spread of the virus.

    The first recorded death in this outbreak was a 24-year-old man in Mubende. Six members of his family also died.

    It later reached the capital Kampala, with one death recorded in October. But health officials said the city remained virus-free, as the man who died had travelled from Mubende.

    This latest outbreak is of the Sudan strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine. The Zaire strain, which killed 11,000 people in an outbreak across West Africa from 2013-2016, can be vaccinated against.

    Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated material.

    Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, and in some cases internal or external bleeding.

    The incubation period can last from two days to three weeks, and the virus can be associated with other illnesses, such as malaria and typhoid.

     

  • Uganda president apologizes to Kenya for son’s irresponsible invasion tweets

    Kenyans have received an apology from President Yoweri Museveni after reading tweets from his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba that regularly threatened to invade Uganda’s neighbouring country in East Africa.

    In a series of tweets on Monday and Tuesday, Kainerugaba posted provocative messages, including proposing the unification of Kenya and Uganda.

    “It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” Kainerugaba wrote, referring to Kenya’s capital.

    “Union is a MUST! No honorable men can allow these artificial, colonial borders anymore. If our  generation has men, then these borders must fall!.”

    Presidential apology

    President Museveni apologized for his son’s comments, saying it was wrong for public officers to meddle in the affairs of other nations.

    “I ask our Kenyan brothers and sisters to forgive us for tweets sent by General Muhoozi, former Commander of Land Forces here, regarding the election matters in that great country,” Museveni wrote in a statement released Wednesday on his official website.

    His comments drew angry reactions from Kenyans on social media and Kainerugaba, who is widely regarded as the de facto head of the military and his father’s chosen successor, was on Tuesday removed as commander of Uganda’s land forces. It was unclear whether the change was made following his controversial tweets.

    He was later promoted from lieutenant general to the rank of a full general and will remain a senior presidential adviser for special operations, a Ugandan Ministry of Defence statement announced.

    Despite his apology, Museveni justified Kainerugaba’s promotion, saying his son had only erred in his comments and not in his service.

    “Why, then, promote him to full General after these comments? This is because this mistake is one aspect where he has acted negatively as a public officer,” the Ugandan leader said.

    “There are, however, many other positive contributions the General has made and can still make,” he added while describing Kainerugaba as “a passionate Pan-Africanist.”

    An outspoken general

    Kainerugaba is outspoken on social media and has frequently traded barbs with opposition figures and weighed into politics, despite his military role barring him from doing so.

    Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni pictured in 2018.
    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni pictured in 2018. SUMY SADRUNI/AFP/Getty Images

    Kainerugaba also asked his more than 600,000 Twitter followers how many cows should be offered as a bride price for Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing politician expected to be named Italy’s prime minister this month.

    “I would give her 100 Nkore cows immediately! For being fearless and true!!,” he wrote.

    Ugandan LGBTQ organization calls government shutdown of its operations a ‘clear witch-hunt’

    Kainerugaba later said the comments were made in jest. While an aide to Francesco Lollobrigida, told reporters Kainerugaba’s offer was not a serious topic.

    Ugandan analysts and opposition leaders have long accused the 78-year-old Museveni of grooming his son to take over from him, but Museveni, who has been in power for 36 years, has repeatedly denied doing so.

     

  • Uganda’s Museveni removes his army general son as ‘commander’ after Kenya invasion tweets

    Uganda’s defense ministry announced Tuesday that President Yoweri Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, was being replaced by another military officer as head of the country’s ground forces, hours after a tweet by the son caused an uproar in Kenya.

    Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga “has been appointed commander of the ground forces,” according to a ministry statement, replacing Kainerugaba.

    The ministry also announced that President Museveni had promoted his 48-year-old son to the rank of general, a move seen by analysts interviewed by AFP as cosmetic.

    The Defense Ministry’s decision came shortly after Kainerugaba sparked an outcry by tweeting that he was ready to invade Kenya.

    “It wouldn’t take me and my army two weeks to capture Nairobi,” he said in the tweet Monday night, before doing an about-face in a second.

    “I will never beat the Kenyan army because my father told me never to attempt it! So our people in Kenya should relax!”

    The outcry on social media prompted Uganda’s foreign ministry to issue a statement saying its “commitment to good neighborliness (and) peaceful coexistence” with Kenya.

    Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, may again run for president in the 2026 election.

    Source: Africanews

  • Ugandan President rules out lockdown over Ebola

    The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has stated that imposing restrictions in Ebola hotspots in the central region is not necessary as the viral disease is not airborne.

    Mr Museveni said his government had the capacity to control the epidemic due to previous experience with similar outbreaks. This is the fourth time Ebola has broken out in Uganda.

    He said that health experts who had previously dealt with Ebola outbreaks had been deployed to the affected region.

    Ebola is spread through contact with an infected person or infected surfaces and human waste.

    The association of medical workers in the country had previously called for the affected region to be put under quarantine to stop further spread of the haemorrhagic fever.

    It is currently taking 24 hours for samples to be tested and laboratory results to be released.

    The president said the government would set up a laboratory at Mubende district headquarters, the epicentre of the outbreak, to quicken the sample processing.

    Six medical workers who treated the 24-year-old man who was later identified as the first case, have tested positive for Ebola.

    A total of 24 people have been confirmed to be infected by the virus in the country, five of whom have died, since the outbreak was declared last week.

    Source: BBC