State House Uganda has cleared air on reports that the country’s elderly and longest-serving post-independence ruler Gen President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni is soon planning to resign his job to allow for a new leader to succeed him in what could be the first peaceful political transition in the 60 years of Uganda’s independence.
Currently aged 78 — having celebrated his new age mid last month — Gen Museveni has been Uganda’s president since 1986 since taking over power after a successful five-year National Resistance Army (NRA) ‘liberation’ bush war in which hundreds of thousands lost their lives, especially in the Luweero Triangle.
When he ascended to the highest office in the land in 1986, Gen Museveni diagnosed the problem of Africa as leaders who overstay in power, yet the former rebel commander will have ruled the impoverished — yet mineral-rich — land-locked East African nation for a cool four decades by the end of his current five-year term of office, which began last year, in 2026.
As Museveni grows older, the question of a succession or transition from him continues to dominate political debates on the future of Uganda. A number of people both within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the opposition are seen as already positioning themselves to succeed the president once he makes that much-awaited big announcement to quit the ‘big chair.’
So, when an audio circulated on social media with a man therein claiming that Gen Museveni had reportedly said that he was tired of ruling the country and ready to hand over power so that other people would take over from him and steer Uganda forward, there was a lot of excitement among those who listened to the recording.
In the same audio, a man is heard telling his audience that Gen Museveni had reportedly made it clear that it is up to those who will replace him to choose whether to use the foundation he has laid over the nearly four decades he has been in power or ruin what he has built.
The man in the audio did not offer context to his claims such as where the president made the statements about his intention to resign very soon nor did he reveal when the head of state and government made the statement. Yet the audio moved fast, with some gullible people believing that Gen Museveni would very soon make a big announcement on his resignation to allow a peaceful transition.
However, a State House official has punched holes in the claims contained in the recording. Faruk Kirunda, the Deputy Press Secretary to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda, whose position makes him the official deputy spokesperson of State House Uganda, has made it clear that the recording was peppered with malice and that it had been crafted by people who hate to see the Pearl of Africa progressing and stable.
Kirunda also emphasized that Gen Museveni was still able and capable of steering Uganda forward, meaning that he would not resign any time soon. “Please, ignore this malicious audio clip! It’s the work of enemies of progress and stability. Mzee is still in charge and not tired,” the deputy presidential press secretary.
Please, ignore this malicious audio clip! It's the work of enemies of progress and stability. Mzee is still in charge and not tired. FK pic.twitter.com/eBWEjVPfso
— Faruk Kirunda (@kirunda_faruk) October 20, 2022
This is not the first time Kirunda is punching holes into claims made by fake news mongers. A few months ago, the State House official cleared the air on reports that Gen Museveni had appointed his former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi as the new Governor of the Bank of Uganda. (Read Story Here).
Meanwhile, Kirunda’s statement on claims that Gen Museveni was planning to resign came hours after the president’s NRM office endorsed his (Museveni’s) 2026 presidential campaign dubbed ‘Omalako Jajja Tova ku Main,’ leaving first son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba in tears. (See Details Here).
The rumors on Museveni’s resignation also come a few days after he trashed Norbert Mao’s ‘peaceful power handover’ talks although the DP boss and Minister insists his plan to ensure a transition from Museveni to a new leader is unstoppable. (Read Stories Here and There).
