This photo of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, chatting on the phone while sitting on a chair on the side of a village road, has raised questions – such as whether the cowboy hat-wearing leader was pulling off a cheap publicity stunt or was dealing with urgent matters of national importance.
The photo was released by his press officer Don Wanyama who said on Facebook that his 71-year-old boss had stopped his motorcade to make the 30-minute call while returning from World Population Day celebrations in remote western Uganda on Monday.
He does not say why the call had to be made from a roadside chair – with an accompanying desk – but Ugandans have offered their own explanations on Twitter.
Uganda: Museveni Promotes Son to Major-General in Army
The son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba (L), is pictured at a military training center in Kampala, Uganda, August 16, 2012. Muhoozi has been promoted to the rank of Major-General in Uganda’s armed forces.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has promoted his son to the rank of Major-General in the country’s military.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, 42, is the first child of the Ugandan leader, who has been in power in the East African country since 1986. He heads up the Special Forces Command, which maintains the president’s security, and is considered to be one of the most powerful figures in the Ugandan military, which is one of the country’s most dominant institutions.
Muhoozi has been in the army since 1999 and trained at esteemed military centers including Sandhurst, the British Army’s primary military college, and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was only made brigadier in 2012 and has enjoyed a rapid ascent through the military’s ranks.
A spokesperson for the Ugandan People’s Defense Force, Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Akunda, dismissed suggestions that Muhoozi had received favorable treatment due to the position of his father, who also fulfils the role of Commander-in-Chief of Uganda’s armed forces. “I do not see any problem with that. He has attended all the requisite courses, he has experience in command, and therefore there should be no qualms about his promotion,” Akunda told NTV Uganda.
Museveni won his fifth term in power after triumphing in controversial elections held in February and was inaugurated on Thursday. Museveni’s main opponent, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change, rejects the result and was arrested on Wednesday after taking part in an alternative presidential inauguration ceremony in the capital Kampala. Besigye has been charged with treason and is being held in Uganda’s only maximum security prison.
The Ugandan president has three daughters besides Muhoozi.
Why US diplomats walked out of Uganda president’s inauguration
Uganda’s long-time president was sworn in Thursday for a fifth term, taking him into his fourth decade in power amid arrests of opposition politicians and a shutdown of social media.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. delegation to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration walked out of Thursday’s ceremony in protest against his disparaging comments about an international war crimes tribunal and the presence of Sudan’s leader, whom the court has indicted, the State Department said.
Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac and a visiting Washington-based official, along with several European and Canadian diplomats, abruptly left the inauguration after Museveni made negative remarks about the International Criminal Court in his inaugural address. She added that the U.S. also objected to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s participation in the inauguration. Al-Bashir has been charged by the court for atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Trudeau did not identify the European or Canadian diplomats involved. She said Museveni’s comments were “insulting” to both the court and to victims of war crimes and genocide.
“We believe that walking out in protest is an appropriate reaction to a head of state mocking efforts to ensure accountability for victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly when his country has committed to accountability as a state party to the Rome Statute” that established the court, she said.
President Yoweri Museveni, 71, was inaugurated in the capital, Kampala, in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from across Africa, including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, South African President Jacob Zuma and President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. Tribal dancers entertained the crowd and Ugandan military aircraft, including Russian-made fighter jets, performed an air show over the venue.
In his address, Museveni called the court “a bunch of useless people” and said he no longer supports it. Uganda is a member of The Hague-based International Criminal Court and as such is obligated to detain and turn over suspects wanted by the tribunal. The United States is not a member of the court, but supports it and has called on other countries to live up to their commitments under the treaty that created it.
The walkout was preceded by expressions of concern about al-Bashir’s presence from the U.S. delegation to Uganda’s prime minister and foreign minister, Trudeau said. She added that the delegation decided to attend the inauguration despite al-Bashir’s attendance out of respect for U.S.-Ugandan bilateral relations, but made the decision to leave after Museveni’s remarks.
Al-Bashir faces two ICC indictments for atrocities linked to the conflict in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have died and 2 million have been displaced since 2003, according to U.N. figures. He rejects the ICC’s authority and had been able to travel relatively freely in Africa and the Middle East — even to countries like Uganda and South Africa that are parties to the Rome Statute and are required to carry out ICC arrest warrants. Al-Bashir also recently attended the inauguration of Djibouti’s president, an event attended by U.S. officials.
Uganda bans media coverage of election result protests
There have been clashes between police and opposition supporters since the February election.
Uganda has banned live media coverage of opposition protests against the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni.
The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has called for a “defiance campaign” against the 71-year-old leader extending his 30-year rule.
Security forces have sealed off the home of its leader Kizza Besigye, who described February’s vote as a “sham”.
The government says media organisations could lose their licence if they cover the protest.
Those who cover the event on social media would also be punished, the head of Uganda’s Communications Commission said.
Last week, a court ruled that what the opposition is calling a “defiance campaign” against the election result was illegal, but the FDC has insisted on going ahead with its activities.
Mr Museveni’s victory was upheld by the Supreme Court in March.
Media organisations have been told not to carry out live interviews with opposition members or show their activities in real time during their protests.
Live television coverage has become a key part of the way political news is being reported in Uganda, says the BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital, Kampala.
There is currently a heavy military and police deployment around the city in anticipation of opposition action, our reporter adds.
Mr Museveni is to be sworn for a fifth term on 12 May.
