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Uganda Election: Museveni Confirms Bid To Extend 40-Year Rule

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9 months ago

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Uganda Election: Museveni Confirms Bid To Extend 40-Year Rule

The 80-year-old leader pledges economic growth from today’s GDP of $66bn to $500bn within the next five years.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed he will contest next year’s presidential election, setting the stage for a potential extension of his nearly 40-year rule.

The 80-year-old announced late on Saturday that he had expressed his interest “in running for … the position of presidential flag bearer” for his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

Museveni seized power in 1986 after a five-year civil war and has ruled ever since.

The NRM has altered the constitution twice to remove term and age limits, clearing the way for Museveni to extend his tenure.

Rights groups accused him of using security forces and state patronage to suppress dissent and entrench his power – claims he denies.

Museveni said he seeks re-election to transform Uganda into a “$500bn economy in the next five years”. According to government data, the country’s current gross domestic product stands at just under $66bn.

Ugandans are due to vote in January to choose a president and members of parliament.

Challenger
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, a pop star-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has confirmed he will run again. Wine rejected the 2021 results, alleging widespread fraud, ballot tampering and intimidation by security forces.

Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, poses for a photograph after his press conference at his home in Magere, Uganda, on January 26, 2021. – Ugandan soldiers have stood down their positions around the residence of opposition leader Bobi Wine, a day after a court ordered an end to the confinement of the presidential runner-up. He had been under de-facto house arrest at his home outside the capital, Kampala, since he returned from voting on January 14, 2021.

Tensions have risen in recent months after parliament passed a law allowing military courts to try civilians, a practice the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in January.

The government insisted the change is necessary to tackle threats to national security, but rights organisations and opposition figures argued it is a tool to intimidate and silence critics.

Uganda for years has used military courts to prosecute opposition politicians and government critics.

In 2018, Wine was charged in a military court with illegal possession of firearms. The charges were later dropped.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised Uganda’s military courts for failing to meet international standards of judicial independence and fairness.

Oryem Nyeko, senior Africa researcher at HRW, said this year: “The Ugandan authorities have for years misused military courts to crack down on opponents and critics.”

Aljazeera.com

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Foreign

Former President Confirmed Dead

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2 weeks ago

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March 3, 2026

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s former president, was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.

The reports said the attack targeted the Narmak neighborhood in eastern Tehran and that Ahmadinejad was killed along with several of his bodyguards.

Ahmadinejad, 69, served as Iran’s sixth president from 2005 to 2013, leading the country’s ninth and tenth administrations. His presidency was marked by confrontational rhetoric toward the West and escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

Born in 1956 in the village of Aradan in Semnan Province, he moved to Tehran with his family as a child. Before becoming president, he served as governor of Ardabil Province and later as mayor of Tehran.

In 2013, after leaving office, he was appointed by Iran’s supreme leader to the Expediency Council, an advisory body that mediates disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council. He had continued to serve as a member in recent years.

His reported death comes a day after Iran’s supreme leader was killed in US-Israel airstrikes.

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Has Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu Been Killed In Drone Airstrike? Fact Emerges

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2 weeks ago

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March 1, 2026

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On February 28, an X account named ReversingTrend posted: “Initial reports indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was killed by an Iranian drone strike inside his residence in Tel Aviv.”

The post quickly gained traction, recording 954,000 views, 1,100 retweets, and 7,700 likes.

Factcheck Africa tool confirmed that the claim was false. Multiple reliable sources confirmed that Benjamin Netanyahu was alive and continued to serve as the Prime Minister of Israel.

See the X post below:

Further checks by Legit Nigeria showed that his profile entry on Israel’s official website listed his birthdate and current position with no mention of his death.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) page also confirmed his status, noting that an arrest warrant was issued against him on November 21, 2024.

The existence of this warrant implied that he was alive and subject to ongoing legal proceedings.

The evidence showed that Benjamin Netanyahu had not been killed in a drone strike. He remained in office as Prime Minister of Israel, and no credible reports supported the claim of his death.

The viral post was therefore misleading, spreading false information about a sitting world leader.

Verdict: False – Benjamin Netanyahu was not killed in a drone strike. He was alive and serving as Prime Minister of Israel at the time of the claim.

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Foreign

Cabinet Reshuffle: President Sacks Finance Minister

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2 weeks ago

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February 25, 2026

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South Sudan President Salva Kiir fired Finance Minister Bak Barnaba Chol in a reshuffle that was unveiled on state television on Monday evening.

Chol was appointed to the post in November, following the president’s firing of Athian Diing Athian just two months after his appointment.

Kiir appointed Salvatore Garang, an economist trained at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, as the new Minister of Finance.

Garang previously served as finance minister from 2018 to 2020, a period marked by economic reforms and fiscal strains.
During his first stint in the role, local media reported that Garang faced corruption allegations, including that he allocated 100,000 dollars to cover the cost of his son’s funeral.

He has not commented on the allegations.
The decree also removed several other senior officials, including the commissioner general of the National Revenue Authority, as part of the broader administrative changes.

Analysts say Kiir regularly makes changes to ranks in the military and government to maintain control as he contends with armed conflict and speculation about his eventual succession.

No reason was given for the ninth change in the finance minister since 2020.

-Source: (Reuters/News Agency of Nigeria NAN)

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