President Museveni in his address to the nation on Tuesday reacted with defiance to international criticism of a government crackdown on the opposition and Facebook closing down the ruling party’s account, two days before presidential and parliamentary polls. He said Uganda’s sovereignty should be respected.
Mr Museveni who is seeking the sixth-elective term in office, said that his NRM government is well-informed and therefore, doesn’t need lecturers from anybody.
“Uganda is ours, it is not anybody’s. There is no way anybody can come and play around with our country, to decide who is good, who is bad, this one we will stop. We cannot accept that,” he said.
Museveni’s bitter comments came days after the California-based Facebook closed accounts of NRM bloggers because it was found these bloggers were seeking to manipulate public debate ahead of elections.
“This month, we removed a network of accounts and pages in Uganda that engaged in CIB (Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour) to target public debate ahead of the election,” Facebook’s head of communication for sub-Saharan Africa, Kezia Anim-Addo, said Monday in an email to AFP .
76-year-old further blamed the opposition, especially the musician turned politician Bobi Wine for not respecting the Covid-19 measures during his campaign rallies.
“Unfortunately some of our contesters did not follow the Covid regulations. They were defying the regulation of not congregating and they were gathering sizeable numbers of people which of course would facilitate infection,” Museveni said.
Mr Museveni also warned the opposition against inciting violence after the election, saying the government is ready for them.
“There is no threat we cannot defeat. Do not fear to vote, we shall defend you. There is no part of Uganda we cannot reach, if not by foot then by air,” he said.
Ugandans vote Thursday in a highly-charged election after one of the bloodiest campaigns in years, as the veteran leader seeks another term against a singer-turned-lawmaker half his age.