Uganda’s President Museveni confirms bid to extend nearly 40-year rule

The 80-year-old person pledges economical maturation from today’s GDP of $66bn to $500bn wrong the adjacent 5 years.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed helium volition contention adjacent year’s statesmanlike election, mounting the signifier for a imaginable hold of his astir 40-year rule.

The 80-year-old announced precocious connected Saturday that helium had expressed his involvement “in moving for … the presumption of statesmanlike emblem bearer” for his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

Museveni seized powerfulness successful 1986 aft a five-year civilian warfare and has ruled ever since.

The NRM has altered the constitution doubly to region word and property limits, clearing the mode for Museveni to widen his tenure.

Rights groups accused him of utilizing information forces and authorities patronage to suppress dissent and entrench his powerfulness – claims helium denies.

Museveni said helium seeks re-election to alteration Uganda into a “$500bn system successful the adjacent 5 years”. According to authorities data, the country’s existent gross home merchandise stands astatine conscionable nether $66bn.

Ugandans are owed to ballot successful January to take a president and members of parliament.

Challenger

Opposition person Bobi Wine, a popular star-turned-politician whose existent sanction is Robert Kyagulanyi, has confirmed helium volition tally again. Wine rejected the 2021 results, alleging wide fraud, ballot tampering and intimidation by information forces.

Ugandan absorption person Robert Kyagulanyi, besides known arsenic Bobi Wine [File: Sumy Sadurni/AFP]

Tensions person risen successful caller months aft parliament passed a law allowing subject courts to effort civilians, a signifier the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional successful January.

The authorities insisted the alteration is indispensable to tackle threats to nationalist security, but rights organisations and absorption figures argued it is simply a instrumentality to intimidate and soundlessness critics.

Uganda for years has utilized subject courts to prosecute absorption politicians and authorities critics.

In 2018, Wine was charged successful a subject tribunal with amerciable possession of firearms. The charges were aboriginal dropped.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised Uganda’s subject courts for failing to conscionable planetary standards of judicial independency and fairness.

Oryem Nyeko, elder Africa researcher at HRW, said this year: “The Ugandan authorities person for years misused subject courts to ace down connected opponents and critics.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies