Independent vote tallies showed Bobi Wine defeating Gen. Museveni by 51% to 35%. Photo: Facebook
Major African powers have shunned today’s illegal “swearing in” of Uganda’s military dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni in Kampala, the capital.
Nigeria’s president and South Africa’s president are not coming to Gen. Museveni’s “swearing in.” Some of Uganda’s neighbors are also skipping the celebration of election theft.
Meanwhile, the presumptive winner of the Jan. 14 presidential election, Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi, a.k.a Bobi Wine, remains under house arrest. He rejected Museveni’s claim that he won the vote as “a joke.” The United States, which provides Uganda with nearly $1 billion in annual financial and military support has rejected the election. In a statement on April 16, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Jan. 14 Ugandan election was “neither free, nor fair.” He denounced the state-violence carried out by security forces and announced sanctions including visa restrictions on Ugandan political and military figures. The names of the officials affected were not disclosed but Ugandan activists hope it includes Gen. Museveni himself and his son Gen. Muhoozi Kaenerugaba who commands the brutal Special Forces Command (SFC).
Military dictator Gen. Museveni.
Given the international condemnation of the regime, especially following the recent spree of abductions, tortures and killings by the SFC, other major African countries are distancing themselves from Gen. Museveni. Major world leaders have also shunned the “swearing in.”
Burundi’s Évariste Ndayishimiye; Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed; and South Sudan’s Salva Kiir. These are leaders of countries with unstable governments. Other leaders coming are Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, Namibia’s Hage Gottfried Geingob, Guinea’s Alpha Conde, Congo’s Felix Tshikedi, Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Zewde—but not prime minister Abiy Ahmed—and Tanzania’s Suluhu Hassan. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, once a strong-ally of Gen. Museveni has shunned the illegal “swearing in” and won’t be attending.
Thousands of Ugandans slept in detention last night after being arrested by security forces. The regime fears that protests could erupt during the “swearing in” of the increasingly brutal and unpopular dictator who’s held power for 35 years now.
(More updates coming up shortly).
