By Julia Taliesin
Staff Writer
Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, tweeted last Tuesday in defense of the vulgar comment President Donald Trump allegedly made about Haiti and African nations being “shithole countries.”
President Museveni tweeted, “…Donald Trump speaks to Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems. You can’t survive if you are weak. It is the Africans’ fault that they are weak. We are 12 times the size of India, but why are we not strong?”
Other African leaders did not share Museveni’s approval. Representatives of other African nations swiftly and strongly denounced Trump’s comment. Jessie Duarte, the Deputy Secretary General of South Africa’s African National Congress, said, “Ours is not a shithole country and neither is Haiti or any other country in distress.” Reuters reported that Botswana’s foreign ministry called the comment “highly irresponsible, reprehensible and racist.”
This is not the first time Museveni has expressed his approval of Trump. During the opening of the East African Legislative Assembly, he stated that, “America has got one of the best presidents ever.” According to the BBC, this comment was met with laughter.
Museveni has been the president of Uganda for over three decades. He has a history of amending the constitution to allow himself to run for more terms. Though he had originally said that due to the presidential age limit of 75 (Museveni is 73, and his birth date is debated), he signed a bill ending such age limits in December, allowing him to run for a sixth term in 2021. The BBC has reported that he has also been accused of grooming his son to succeed him.
Museveni and his administration have numerous ties with United States conservatives, particularly the right-wing Christian movements. In 2014, Museveni signed a controversial anti-homosexuality bill into law, making homosexuality punishable by life in prison. The legislation was dubbed the “Kill the Gays” bill because an earlier version included the death penalty as a punishment. While American right-wing activists are not directly responsible for the bill, they have played a significant role in fueling anti-gay sentiment in Ugandan churches. Though the law was ruled unconstitutional six months later on procedural grounds, violence and discrimination continues against gay people, or those suspected of being gay.
Museveni’s approval of Trump’s comment continues to remain unique among leaders of African countries. Direct communication between the two of them has not been widely publicized, and it is unclear if this will develop into any specific political relationship.
Halid KBidi • Jan 31, 2018 at 3:47 am
Yes. General Museveni, like any dictator and or any aspiring life president, it is not only a duty, but certainly an obligation to like, prise and accept not only what Donald Trump says, but also any other American president and presidents from other super power. Museveni has at least three time publicly said how he loves the man and has said the same about the Russian and Chinese leaders.
And one can’t blame the man. Why? Because he no longer think and rightly so that his mandate comes from Ugandans. He knows very well that he his now an agent of foreign powers and individuals.
Even if Trump belittles African, Museveni can wake up and hand over Ugandans to save his interests. Maybe as the slave traders did. An action Museveni himself loves to condemn and abuse our fore fathers for.
If one looks around Africa and latin American, all president, who have managed to condemn and call on Trump to retract his words. They all have a completely different profile. ie How the came to power; the time table of when they came and how they will leave is well defined; What they were before they came to power; Where they got their mandate and so forth.
Talk about presidents like Ian Khama of Botswana in Southern Afraica; to Mark Sall of Senegal Northern African, who once told off former American president Barack Hussein Obama face to face on the other issue not worth mentioning again here.
On the contrary, when the Museveni’s meet Donald Trump in America shortly after coming to power, he embarrassed them by telling them that, “I don’t anything about your countries, I only know that my friends just come there to make money and get rich quick” to which they simply laughed and clapped.
Funny enough, whereas Ugandans in general welcomed the coming of and supported the Donald Trump campaign, for one reason including me. That was going, as he promised, to deal with long time African dictators. We now know he cut our “pocket money” as ghetto boys would say.
On the other hand, General Museveni was one of the rulers, who was opening opposed to Donald Trump becoming president of American. In fact, the were some credible rumours, that Museveni was one of those African dictators, who secretly, financially, supported the Clinton campaign directly and or indirectly through the Clinton foundation.
Well Museveni changes as day and night, as long as that helps him to stay in power and so is the man.