Uganda’s 80 Year Old President Museveni Seeks Seventh Term

Uganda’s 80 Year Old President Museveni Seeks Seventh Term

President Yoweri Museveni, now aged 80 and having ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, has officially launched his campaign for a seventh presidential term.

Museveni is Africa’s third longest serving leader, behind only Paul Biya of Cameroon and Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. With his nomination filed this week, it appears Museveni is determined to govern Uganda for a full 50 years without interruption.

He first came to power in 1986 after leading a guerrilla war that ousted then President Milton Obote. Since then, Museveni has contested and won six consecutive elections, each mired in allegations of electoral fraud, suppression of opposition voices, media censorship, and intimidation of civil society.

Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, a former musician turned politician, has once again declared his intention to challenge Museveni at the polls.

Meanwhile, Museveni’s eldest son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who currently serves as the Chief of Defence Forces, is widely seen as the heir to his father’s throne. He has become notorious for leading state security operations that abduct political opponents, intimidate activists, and crush any form of dissent. To many, he is the shadow enforcer of a growing dynastic regime.

Museveni has effectively turned Uganda into a family property, with his family deeply entrenched in key military and political structures. It would not be surprising if he eventually declared himself supreme ruler or even king of Uganda.

What is most concerning is the silence of the African Union. Despite credible reports of human rights violations, abductions, and increasing authoritarianism in Uganda, the continental body has shown little interest in holding Museveni accountable. The same African Union that rushes to condemn military-led transitions in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger seems blind to the creeping dictatorship in Uganda.

Why does the African Union, along with its backers in Paris, Washington, London, Brussels, and Berlin, remain comfortable with Museveni but take issue with leaders like Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, Colonel Assimi Goita of Mali, and General Abdourahamane Tiani of Niger? The answer is simple. Museveni, just like Biya, Obiang, plays by the rules of the old imperial order, selling out their countries.

Museveni should go and be with his grandkids instead. They need him more than anyone else.