On Sunday 16 October, KTN news Anchor and Editor Sophia Wanuna held a one-on-one interview with President Museveni at the State House.
In this interview, Museveni outlines the prospects of his 36-year-rule. Museveni says out of Uganda’s 60 years of independence, only 36 have been progressive.
“In the initial 24 years, we regressed,” said Museveni.
“The problem in Uganda was not poverty or anything, the problem was that leaders were bringing the traditional system, where people just worked to eat. It was more of a subsistence economy and not a money economy.
“When I took control as President in 1986, our vision was clear on the issues of philosophy, ideology, and strategy. If it were not for opposition by the external forces, the imperialists, and the local people, we would have been very far as a country,” Museveni said.
President Museveni also called a section of Ugandans “lazy”. The President said the country’s vast arable land has enabled many Ugandans to readily access food, thus turning some of them into lazy people.
“Uganda is a rich country. There are a lot of natural resources. That’s why these Ugandans are lazy. They are lazy because a fool here can’t die easily. If you’re a fool, you can survive by just eating at your brother’s home, and just wandering about. There is no way you’ll easily die in Uganda,” President Museveni said.
The head of State, 78, said Kenyans have to work harder than Ugandans to put food on the table because the larger part of Kenyan land “doesn’t favor agriculture”.
“For Kenyans, it’s a bit harder putting food on the table. Most of the country is semi-arid. The part of the country that accommodates agriculture is a small percentage. Here in Uganda, every part is very nice,” he said.
In the interview, President Museveni also touched on the recent gaffe by his son, General Muhoozi Keinerugaba, who tweeted he could capture Nairobi within 14 days if he wished.
President Museveni said General Muhoozi is a “good military officer” serving in an army that is riddled with corruption and other challenges.
“That general you are talking about, Muhoozi, is a very good officer in the army. The army has got all sorts of problems like corruption; many of the armies are killed by corruption, stealing resources of the army, poor training, and so on”.
Responding to a question on whether general Muhoozi who is also his eldest son, only received a slap on the wrist after he threatened to invade Nairobi, Museveni said the UPDF has always used the same method from rewarding for their good deeds and reprimanding them for their bad.
“If somebody is good in something and bad but makes a mistake in something else how do you handle it?
Our experience, not only for Muhoozi but for many of them, is that you may not get 100 percent correct, but if you get 10 percent mistake or 20 percent mistake, but you have got 80 percent contribution, this is how you manage it”.
“If Muhoozi was tweeting about sports, and things which are not controversial, that would have not been a problem. But to talk about other countries, or even the politics of Uganda, is what he should not do, and he won’t do,” said Museveni.
Commenting on the removal of the presidential term limits and the age limit, President Museveni said “it’s not about who leads but rather what is to be done. If the ‘what’ is clear then the ‘who’ doesn’t matter”. He added the removal of the term and age limit was agreed upon by all the concerned individuals.
Uganda has land in Kenya that was gifted to us by Uhuru Kenyatta, for building a port that can be used for cargo transportation.
“We have land in Naivasha and Eldoret. I don’t have the details but it’s a very good thing”. Said, Museveni.
