Kenya Insights

Tag: President Yoweri Museveni

  • Ugandan Pop Star Bobi Wine Cleared to Challenge Aging Incumbent Again

    Ugandan Pop Star Bobi Wine Cleared to Challenge Aging Incumbent Again

    Ugandan opposition leader, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, was cleared on Wednesday to stand for president, pitting him against Yoweri Museveni for a second time during a career in which he has been arrested and jailed multiple times for his opposition to the long-serving incumbent.

    Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, first challenged Museveni in the 2021 polls but came in second place.

    The 43-year-old however rejected the results and said his victory had been stolen through pre-ticked ballots, intimidation by security forces, falsification of results and voter bribery.

    Museveni, 81, who has ruled the east African country since 1986, was cleared to seek another term on Tuesday. If he wins, his rule will span nearly half a century.

    “Our country is one of the richest countries on the planet in terms of natural resources so…our problem is not lack of wealth,” Wine said after he was declared a candidate by the electoral body’s top official in the capital Kampala.

    “Our problem is lack of leadership, leadership that serves the people instead of terrorising them and exploiting them.”

    Kyagulanyi’s party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), has over the years decried what they say is continuous kidnapping, illegal detention and torture of its supporters and officials by Museveni’s government.

    Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son and head of the military, in January threatened to behead to Wine.

    In May, Muhoozi also admitted to confining a missing NUP official in his basement and also threatened violence against him.

    Dozens of NUP supporters and officials have spent months and years in prison over what Wine and others say are politically motivated charges.

    The government has rejected accusations it has kidnapped and tortured opposition members and says security forces only detain people based on legitimate suspicions a crime has been committed.

    “We are fighting for a better Uganda, we are fighting for the farmers…for the young graduates who have no jobs, we are fighting for the ghetto people, those ghetto youth whose future is being stolen,” Wine said.

    Nicknamed “Ghetto President” for his popularity in a large ghetto in the capital and where his music career initially took off in early 2000s, Wine says he is best placed to address the needs of Uganda’s large youth population since he is one of them.

  • Museveni Cleared To Seek Re-Election, Eyes Near Half-Century Rule

    Museveni Cleared To Seek Re-Election, Eyes Near Half-Century Rule

    Uganda’s Electoral Commission on Tuesday cleared octogenarian President Yoweri Museveni to seek reelection in polls due to be held early next year, which could extend his rule in the East African nation to nearly half a century.

    A former rebel, Museveni has been credited with stabilising Uganda, promoting economic growth, and combating HIV/AIDS. But critics denounce his government’s suppression of political opponents, human rights abuses and corruption scandals.

    After seizing power in 1986, Museveni said the problem facing Africa was not its people but “leaders who want to overstay in power”.

    Now Africa’s fourth longest-ruling leader, Museveni and his government have amended the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office.

    The 2026 election is expected to once again pit the 81-year-old incumbent against his chief rival Bobi Wine, 43, a singer who has leveraged his pop stardom to galvanise a large support base among young voters.

    Museveni defeated Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, in 2021 by a wide margin, though Wine said his victory was stolen through ballot stuffing, intimidation by security forces and other irregularities.

    Museveni’s was the first candidacy to be cleared by the elections body, which is charged with evaluating whether those seeking office meet legal requirements. It is expected to assess Wine’s candidacy on Wednesday.

    At a press conference on Tuesday, Museveni said another five-year term in office would allow him to prioritise restoring public safety, fixing transportation infrastructure, and expanding health care and free education.

    “There’s a bit of crime and impunity,” he said, referring to public concerns about a wave of crime in urban areas. His governing National Resistance Movement party would also work on “getting rid of corruption,” he said.

    Museveni’s government is eyeing an economic boom when the country begins shipping crude oil next year, with growth seen leaping to double digits next financial year.

    The president’s opponents have long accused him of using state patronage and the military to maintain his grip on power, and of using kidnappings and torture against adversaries, claims he denies.

    In May, Uganda’s military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Museveni’s son, admitted to holding a missing opposition activist in his basement while threatening that Wine would be next.

  • Museveni Defends Trials For Civilians In Military Courts

    Museveni Defends Trials For Civilians In Military Courts

    Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, 80, has defended the use of military courts to try civilians – following an outcry over the arrest and trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye.

    His 68-year-old rival has been charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad – accusations he denies.

    Besigye, who was abducted while visiting Kenya last month and forcibly taken to Uganda, found out on Tuesday that he would be spending Christmas in custody as his trial has been delayed until January.

    Museveni said any crime involving a gun was dealt with in a military court to ensure the country’s stability as civilian courts took too long to deal with cases.

    Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda’s military courts, even though the Constitutional Court has ruled against the practice.

    “I have seen the arguments in the papers by some lawyers regarding the correctness of some civilians being tried in the Court Martial,” .

    He said his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party had enacted a law through parliament in 2005 to allow the use of military courts because of the “rampant activities of criminals and terrorists that were using guns to kill people indiscriminately”.

    “The civilian courts were clogged with the many court cases of the whole country: murders, rape, assaults, robbery, land matters, divorce matters etc, etc. They could, therefore, not handle these gun-wielding criminals quickly. Yet, for stabilization you need speed,” he said.

    Besigye has objected to being tried by a court-martial, saying that if there were any charges against him, he should be tried in a civilian court.

    A fierce rival of Museveni, he has contested and lost four presidential elections against Uganda’s leader, who has been in power since 1986.

    He has been less active in politics in the last couple of years and did not contest the 2021 election.

    The veteran politician – who was once Museveni’s personal doctor – has been arrested dozens of times in Uganda but never convicted.

    Earlier this year he announced he was returning to the political fray to help sort out his party, which has split into two factions.

    Activists and rights groups have rallied behind him, condemning his treatment as unfair.

    “Civilians tried in Uganda’s military courts do not receive the same due process guarantees as those in civilian courts,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk said.

    There are reports that his arrest had been planned for months.

    Human Rights Watch has urged the Ugandan government to end the “weaponization of military detention” and the trial of political opposition leaders and their supporters.

    But Museveni said the East African nation was justified in using court martials.

    He ended his statement with this praise for them: “You have made your own contribution to our peace.”

  • Museveni: Homosexuality Is A Big Threat And Danger To The Procreation Of Human Race

    Museveni: Homosexuality Is A Big Threat And Danger To The Procreation Of Human Race

    President Yoweri Museveni has called on African nations to lead in rejecting the promotion of homosexuality, describing the vice as a big threat and danger to the procreation of human race.

    “Africa should provide the lead to save the world from this degeneration and decadence which is really very dangerous for humanity. If people of opposite sex stop appreciating one another then how will the human race be propagated?” he asked.

     

     

    President Museveni made these observations while interfacing with a delegation of Members of Parliament from over 22 African countries and the United Kingdom who had converged in Entebbe for a 2-day First ever Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty that ran under the theme ‘Protecting African Culture and Family Values’.

    The delegation was led to State House Entebbe by Hon. Sarah Opendi, the Tororo Woman MP and Chairperson of the Conference and also the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Family.

     

     

    They called on President Museveni to thank him for his firm stand against homosexuality and to bring to his attention some of the African-Caribbean and Pacific – ACP/EU agreements that pose a threat and danger to the sovereignty of the Member States of the ACP.

    The Conference was also attended by experts who enlightened participants on the causes of homosexuality and possible remedies to the vice.

    President Museveni noted that initially the practice that was thought to be a deviation from the normal is more dangerous than drugs.

    He therefore sought the identification of the focal point of homosexuality as it is neither genetic nor hormonal.

     

     

    Dr. Wahome Ngare, a Senior Consultant and Chairman- Kenya Catholic Doctors’ Association clarified on the root causes of homosexuality.

    “So, broken families create homosexuals, they are children who are broken. They are not genetic or hormonal but psychological,” Dr. Wahome explained.

    Dr. Wahome further in his submission pointed out that this lifestyle is naturally sterile; it leads to increased demand in medical services, and it is not scientific.

    He further observed that homosexuality is not natural, it is not consistent with nature and culture as well as faith.

    “In fact, same sex unions and same sexual acts are anti-life, anti-family and anti-humanity. It should be banned in total,” he stressed.

    One of the researchers on the subject, Sharon Slatter- the President of the Watch International and the Chairperson of United Nations Family Caucus also cited some of the root causes of the practice as an abusive father who at times is never at home for the child, overprotective mothers, pornography addiction, sexual abuse or children who were bullied and felt marginalized.

    She added that most of the children in these categories develop same sex attraction.

    President Museveni was glad to learn from Slatter that victims could be provided with some therapy and be rehabilitated like one victim who was deeply involved in homosexuality but was reformed and helped over 1000 other victims as well in their rehabilitation.

    “That means Homosexuality is reversible and curable. But it should not be preserved or propagated it should be confined” he said.

    The President who praised the Ugandan Parliament for passing the bill vowed never to allow the promotion and publicisation of homosexuality in Uganda, stressing that it will never be tolerated.

    “If I kissed Janet in public, I will not win elections in Uganda. It shouldn’t even be done in the sitting room because children are there. Now here you are, declaring, “I am a homosexual”, what are you trying to show?” He wondered.

    Slatter however warned of some actors from the UN who are busy moving around the world advocating against the establishment of rehabilitation centers for the victims of homosexuality.

    “They go around the world saying the right of Conversion Therapy should be preserved and should be declared illegal,” she warned.

    President Museveni at the same interface with African MPs thanked Hon. Asheme Songwe, MP and leader of the Malawi delegation to the ACP/EU in Brussels for bringing to his attention articles contained in the ACP/EU new draft agreement that pose a lot of challenges and are a threat to the sovereignty of the Member States and also to the Values of Family, Religious and Traditional Cultures.

    “We appeal to you to be the Ambassador in Chief across Africa, to sensitize each and every Head of State of the dangers of the post Cotonou agreement. For example Article 88, in the new agreement creates a super council of Ministers from ACP/EU who have powers to come up with the binding decisions which will override the various original agreements in our respective groupings like the ECOWAS, SADC and the EAC. Article 46.3 and 40 are advancing issues dealing with sexual gender orientation identity a matter that has been well explained by Dr. Wahome. Yes, we are poor but warn fellow Excellencies not to sign. By signing we are putting the future of our children at a great risk. We are excited with what is happening in Uganda,” he said.

    “Now I am immunized. I thank the MP from Malawi for alerting me not to sign the ACP/EU agreement. Now I am immunized against the ACP/EU agreement,” the President said.

    President Museveni however appealed to friends from the Western Political circles whom he assured of not having any enmity with them, to stop giving lectures to Africans and wasting their time because they will not succeed as colonialism was defeated from the onset of Organization of African Union (OAU) in Addis Ababa in 1963.

    President Museveni further assured Slatter that there will be no comprehensive sexuality education in Uganda, citing the Biblical phrase in the book of Ecclesiastics that points out that ‘there is time for everything’.

    “Now children are children. They need to grow as children. How can you invade their childhood and start teaching them about adulthood? he asked, calling Dr. Wahome to shed more light on the issue.

    “The part of the brain that makes them reason and make good decisions does not mature until 20 years of age. Therefore, if you come out to teach a child to make good sexual decisions, It is not possible. That is why we have the age of 18 as a cut off for what children can be allowed to do without parental guidance. Therefore, the child doesn’t have to be exposed to sexual matters until the inclination starts naturally,” Dr. Wahome explained.

    President Museveni also told his guests that the moment he receives the bill he will convene a meeting with the Ugandan MPs to harmonize on it and see how best to protect the children from homosexuality.

    Kaluma Peter, MP from Kenya praised President Museveni and the Parliament of Uganda for doing what they did as it is now an inspiration to other Houses on the continent to follow suit, adding that Africa is faced with a bigger problem than slavery or colonialism.

    “A person proposing that there should be same sex marriages or same sex relationships is a person seeking to wipe out the entire humanity out of the face of this earth. So, we are very- very happy to see you being firm on this. You give value to our sovereignty as Independent States in Africa. You have stood in the gap for Africa. We came to express our gratitude, respect, and salutations to you Your Excellency. So many African States are now coming up with similar Laws-Kenya is drafting the family protection Law, Ghana and Malawi and many others,” he disclosed.

    Sarah Opendi the leader of the delegation assured President Museveni that the bill recently passed by Parliament has some clauses that propose the establishment of rehabilitation centers for the victims of homosexuality.

    “Children could have been lured into this act innocently,” she added.

  • Uganda Awards Controversial Italian Businesswoman A Multi-Million Dollar Coffee Processing Tender

    Uganda Awards Controversial Italian Businesswoman A Multi-Million Dollar Coffee Processing Tender

    (Monitor)-A controversial Italian businesswoman, whose plans to use a government-backed multi-million dollar loan to construct the International Specialised Hospital in Lubowa on Entebbe Road, a project that has stalled for nearly two years, has had another project fall in her laps.

    Saturday Monitor has learnt that on Thursday, Ms Enrica Pinetti penned an agreement with the Finance ministry to establish a coffee processing plant at Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve. The proposed coffee processing plant will be located within the Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Mukono District.

    It will squat on land spanning about 27 acres and will be located near Kyagalanyi Coffee Factory, and Steel and Tube Industries, a geotechnical investigations report prepared for the company in 2020, reveals.

    The coffee project— much like the hospital—is not without controversy, having received tax waivers from the government as early as 2017 to the consternation of lawmakers.

    Also, as is the case of the hospital, there is no information to suggest that Ms Pinetti, or indeed her company, have experience in setting up such a project. There is no available information or testimonial evidence of the capacity of the company.

    Background

    Public talk around the coffee company’s establishment started in 2014 when President Museveni received a delegation of investors from Italy led by Ms Pinetti. The company said it planned to add value to Ugandan coffee.
    Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited had been incorporated earlier on January 9, 2014—about a month before the July 13, 2014 meeting with President Museveni.

    The delegation, according to a State House statement, demonstrated their “seriousness” before President Museveni by roasting coffee seeds using a mini roaster. They also made the President to taste “different delicious samples that excited him a great deal”.

    “I have spent a very long time trying to get somebody to add value to our coffee. Uganda has been a donor by exporting raw coffee,” a State House release quoted President Museveni as saying.

    Apart from public remarks on the company by President Museveni, Saturday Monitor has found no evidence to suggest that any work on the implementation of the project has taken place in Namanve since 2014, until the Thursday signing.

    Warming up to Pinetti

    President Museveni had, however, committed—according to State House—to provide Ms Pinetti “with all the necessary assistance to ensure the project takes off soon”.

    The government says the coffee plant is expected to process 60,000 tonnes of coffee per annum at full capacity. It also adds that the plant will start with processing 27,000 tonnes.

    The company, the Finance ministry says, is expected to create 246 jobs for employees and skilled labourers.

    Ms Pinetti who is reported to have had close links to former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi is described as “a good ally of government” based on the perceived closeness to President Museveni.

    The good ally narrative appears in official Finance ministry’s records regarding the 2013 proposal to build and manage specialised healthcare at Entebbe Grade A and the Uganda Cancer Institute at Mulago in Kampala.

    Located just outside Entebbe State House, Entebbe Grade A hospital a subject of fights between State House officials and Wakiso District local authorities has been left in ruins over fights on the utilisation of the prime land it occupies.

    In 2019, President Museveni credited the businesswoman with the construction of the children’s hospital in Entebbe. This was despite accusation of her shady dealings in Libya and Chad. The said hospital—the Children’s Surgical Hospital in Entebbe—which offers free paediatric surgical care, is not affiliated to Ms Pinetti and her associates. The paediatric hospital is owned by Emergency, an NGO founded by an Italian surgeon and human rights activist, Gino Strada, to provide life-saving medical care. Strada died recently.

    Ms Pinetti is not in any way affiliated to the hospital or the NGO, according to public records checked by Saturday Monitor.  Her known companies Finasi and Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited have no public connections to the hospital in Entebbe or the NGO that owns and runs the facility.

    Timing

    After more than eight years in slumber, the timing of the deal has also raised questions.
    On February 2, Uganda officially withdrew from the International Coffee Agreement following a September 2021 notice to do so by Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) boss Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira.

    In a February 9 statement, the coffee authorities cite trade barriers imposed through high tariffs on processed coffee by developing/importing countries, which disadvantage producer countries such as Uganda.

    Uganda also cites the need for unconditional market access that allows for export of value-added coffee and not just fresh beans.

    Other issues are coffee price volatility and International Coffee Organisation (ICO) indicator prices. Mr Robert Kabushenga, the former chief executive officer of government-owned Vision Group, and owner of Rugyeyo Farm a commercial coffee and banana farm queried the UCDA move.

    In a series of tweets, he argued that the country could not negotiate better terms while outside the organisation. He said the country had “scored an own goal”, prompting the UCDA to release a statement clarifying on why Uganda took the position.

    Mr Kabushenga insisted the country could not effectively negotiate when it was out of the framework.

    Hours later, the news of Ms Pinetti and Mr Kasaija signing the agreement was announced.

    “Let me make a prediction. Sometime later this year, our friend…,” Mr Kabushenga said, tagging Ramathan Ggoobi, the Secretary to the Treasury and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, “will ask for money to fund this investment. If and when this facility is ever built, export of green coffee beans will be banned and all roasting for export to be done by [Pinetti]”.

    The US withdrew from the ICO/ICA in 2018, while Guatemala, a major producer like Uganda, left the agreement in 2020.

    New law
    In the coffee growing circles, there is a fierce debate on the National Coffee Bill, 2018.
    The National Coffee Bill was passed by Parliament in August 2020.

    It seeks to provide for the registration of coffee farmers by the UCDA. The registration of farmers was to entail capturing details of the size of land, number of coffee trees, particulars of a farmer, coffee buyers, sellers and nursery bed operators.

    Buganda Kingdom, among other power centres, opposed some contents of the Bill, arguing that they would affect the thriving sector, which is recovering from decades of ruin.

    Last year, President Museveni declined to assent to the Bill, asking Parliament to review several provisions in the proposed law.

    Mr Museveni wants the House to review clause 14 of the Bill regarding the appointment of the Board of Uganda Coffee Development Authority, the appointment of the board chairperson, and director of the authority.

    He also wants Parliament to review Clause 26 on the registration of coffee farmers and the issuance of a certificate of registration for coffee nursery operators.

    The Bill repeals the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Act, 1991, and only covering off-farm activities of marketing and processing, leaving on-farm activities like planting materials, nurseries, harvesting and post-harvesting handling outside the scope of the law.

    Background…The coffee factory deal

    Details on the coffee deal are scanty. Saturday Monitor is yet to obtain a copy of the agreement signed yesterday. What is clear, however, is that Ms Enrica Pinetti aka Enrica Maria Aristidina Pinetti, and her team are yet to deliver on the $379 million (about Shs1.4 trillion) International Specialized Hospital of Uganda.

    Allegations against Ms Pinetti and her company, Finasi, cover at least three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.

    In Africa, the Finasi Company, founded in 1969, lists its operations to be in Libya, Chad, Sudan, Egypt and Uganda. Its largest footprint is in the Middle East, operating in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia. It also operates in Russia, China, Mongolia, India, Switzerland and Italy. The conglomerate’s offices are in Milan, Italy, and Dubai, UAE.

    Little is known about Ms Pinetti’s background. According to Bgreport, an independent information portal based in Italy, Ms Pinetti is originally from Oltrepò Pavese, an area of the Province of Pavia, in the north-west Italian region of Lombardy, and is the founder of Finasi srl.

    Her presence in Uganda came in the limelight when she accused Mr Frank Mugisha Kasaka, the then head of procurement at the Ministry of Health, of allegedly asking for a bribe from her.
    President Museveni, consequently ordered the former Permanent Secretary of the Health ministry to sack Mr Mugisha.

    In Libya, Ms Pinetti, reportedly had a reputation as the go-to person for business, especially contracts, with the military.

    According to the Bgreport, she registered seven companies in the British Virgin Islands in April 2008, sometimes as a shareholder or chief executive officer.

    Some of the companies she has formed include Finasi Engineering Arca Magna for Heritage Conservation, Medfin Engineering Ltd, Finmed Design Consultancy SA, Finasset General Contractor, Hasep Holding Ltd, and Asico Consulting Group Ltd. They are all based at the Trinity Group in Dubai, UAE.

    On September 18, 2015, the Bgreport, reported that a company linked to Ms Pinetti, Finaset di Pinetti, was accused of causing financial loss.

    On 23 June, 2016, President Museveni directed the Ministry of Health to assist Ms Pinetti to build “her hospital at Lubowa so that referrals abroad stop and we stop the haemmorhage of an estimated $150m (Shs531b) per year that goes into “medical tourism” to India. The heart, the kidneys, the brain and the cancers should all be treated here.” The hospital is behind deadline by close to two years and no sign it will be operational soon.

  • Uganda To Give Lifetime Salaries, Houses, Cars To Olympics Medalists

    Uganda To Give Lifetime Salaries, Houses, Cars To Olympics Medalists

    Uganda’s president announced Wednesday that the country’s athletes who won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be given lifetime salaries, cars and houses.

    Yoweri Museveni met with the athletes who returned home with medals from the Summer Games and presented them with awards, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported.

    The gold medalists will receive a monthly salary of 5 million Ugandan shillings ($1,420) in addition to a car, and a house will be built for their families.

    Three million Ugandan shillings ($852) will be allocated to silver medalists, and a million Ugandan shillings ($284) to bronze medalists.

    Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei won the gold medal in the men’s 5,000-meter race and the silver medal in the 10,000-meter race.

    Peruth Chemutai brought the other gold medal home in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase.

    Athlete Jacob Kiplimo also won a bronze medal in the men’s 10,000-meter race.