Proud Museveni Tells Ugandan Women: Mama Janet Has Never Cooked with Firewood

Janet Kataha Museveni, born to peasant parents in Ntungamo district, married President Museveni in the late 1960s and has since lived a comfortable life alongside him.  

In a shocking revelation, President Museveni told Ugandans at this years’ Women day celebrations in Kyankwazi that the First Lady and Minister of Education, Janet Museveni, has never cooked using firewood and has never experienced smoke from cooking.  

President Museveni revealed on the contrasting lives of two women in his life, his mother, Esteri Kokundeka, and his wife, Janet Museveni.

He said, “My mother lived the life of a true rural woman. She fetched water on her head, cleaned her home with her hands, cooked with firewood, carried her children on her back, and inhaled smoke from the kitchen.”  

In contrast, he described Janet Museveni’s exceptional life: “She has never used firewood to cook and doesn’t know what smoke is. She has never carried her children on her back or fetched or carried water because we had piped water, even while we were in exile.”  

He also noted that their children have lived a similar privileged life: My children have never used firewood to cook, and our son Muhoozi and his siblings never walked but were instead carried on bicycles.”  

He emphasized that their lifestyle is significantly different from that of his mother, which is what he and the NRM government want for women across Uganda.  

“From the beginning, our goal for Ugandan women has been for them to be like Mama Janet because that smoke is not good. Perhaps doctors can explain the health risks associated with kitchen smoke,” he said.  

He expressed that the NRM government aims for every woman to have the opportunities that Mama Janet has enjoyed, rather than those that his mother experienced.

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