At President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s inauguration in Kampala, Uganda, on Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta was joined by several other African heads of state.
President Kenyatta, the current Chairperson of the East African Community, was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), Peter Munya (Agriculture), and James Macharia (Infrastructure).
The ceremony was held at the Kololo Independence Grounds in central Kampala and was attended by Presidents Felix Tshisekedi (DR Congo), Alpha Conde (Guinea), Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan), Hague Geingob (Namibia), and Nana Akufo Addo (Ghana).
Others included Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi Faarmajo, Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia).
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni stated in his inaugural address that Uganda had transitioned from a deficit economy to a surplus economy in agricultural production and manufacturing during his tenure.
“In 1986, Uganda was a land of scarcity, with no sugar, soap, paraffin, textiles, salt, sodas, beer, or petrol, among other things. Uganda is now a country of surpluses,” he said, citing the limited awakening of sections of the population.
President Kenyatta and other regional leaders were thanked by the Ugandan leader for opening their markets to Ugandan exports such as sugar and maize surpluses.
President Museveni, on the other hand, slammed unnamed foreign powers for continuing to lecture African countries on good governance, claiming that some of them do not have the continent’s best interests at heart.
“It’s quite amusing to hear some people lecturing us about democracy. What qualifications do you have to give us a lecture on democracy? President Museveni advised, “If you want to know what we’re doing in a respectful way, we’ll show you, but no lectures.”
