“The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.”
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, after seizing power in 1986.
The 76-year-old Dictator has held onto power in Uganda for 35 years by doling out patronage to preserve loyalty, while deploying his security forces to intimidate critics and muzzle the media.
After a bloody campaign (the campaign period has been characterized by killings, beatings and violent dispersal of opposition supporters) an internet blackout and accusations of vote tampering and rigging (On 9 January Facebook shut down dozens of pro-government accounts claiming they were “fake and duplicate accounts” linked to the country’s Ministry of Information to make content appear more popular ahead of the elections), the Dictator Yoweri Museveni, was declared victor of a sixth, five-year term in office. Previous ‘presidential’ elections have been marred by fraud allegations.
On 24 February 2014 Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law. It includes life sentences for gay sex and same-sex marriage. The new law allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality" and also criminalises the "promotion" of homosexuality", where activists encourage others to come out. The sponsor of the bill, MP David Bahati, insisted homosexuality was a "behaviour that can be learned and can be unlearned".
Constitutional amendments in 2005 abolished presidential term limits and set in 2017 a new age limit on the ‘presidency,’ which was previously 75.
Dictator’s wife, Janet Museveni, is the Education and Sports Minister, his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, part of The Special Forces Group, is also responsible for providing security at Uganda's oil installations...
the country’s per capita income (each Ugandan’s earnings per year) is $800 (Shs 2.9m).
For the world, Uganda’s election was a vivid demonstration of how autocrats use elections to cement their hold on power.
