On a recent visit to Qatar, President Museveni granted Al Jazeera an exclusive interview. They discussed a wide range of topics and here are some of the most powerful moments.
Al Jazeera: Mr President, it seems that Ugandans are a little fed up with you because we are reading a lot of reports about this Facebook revolution. People are trying to go to the streets even though they are prevented and they are afraid, of course, of the security forces. They want to create something like the Arab Spring in Uganda. They are fed up because it has been more than three decades of your leadership and term after term after term, it is only one man ruling the country and the world around Uganda has changed. All presidents around Uganda have gone. Do you agree with me that there is a little bit of fatigue with your leadership?
Museveni: Have you heard of something called democracy? Democracy means you elect the people you like. We had elections about one year ago and my party won 62 percent of the vote. That does not show that the people of Uganda are fed up of our party because they have voted for us five times.
Al Jazeera: According to some reports, you have demanded to be given the right to choose the next leader of Uganda. You were unsuccessful.
Museveni: No. I cannot demand that. The people are there. The people have been electing me, in spite of Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera: Are you going to run for another term?
Museveni: We follow our Constitution.
Al Jazeera: There are reports that you are about to change the Constitution so that you can run for another term. Is that going to happen?
Museveni: I cannot change the Constitution because I do not have that power.
Al Jazeera: Reports also say that you are now preparing your own son, who is now highly elevated in the army and he’s your special adviser on certain issues. Your wife is also a minister – she sits next to you on the cabinet. Reports are you are preparing one of the two to become the next president of Uganda. What do you say to this?
Museveni: Why should I prepare them? The people of Uganda will choose the one they want.
Al Jazeera: People in your family are very close to you right now, closer than anybody else. There are reports that you are focusing on your own relatives and this is nepotism – giving them higher seats in the government. Isn’t that nepotism, Mr President?
Museveni: That’s not nepotism. The few members of my family that are involved, I involve on their own merit. My wife, against my advice, stood for election and had the biggest majority in the whole country – because the population appreciate what I have done.
