Museveni explains his weight loss
President Museveni addresses police officers at the commissioning of the National CCTV command monitoring centre at the police headquarters in Naguru on November 28. PHOTO BY DAVID LUBOWA
President Museveni yesterday took to social media - the constituency dominated by youth - to address a range of issues, including his health.
The President sent out a letter on social media sites Facebook and Twitter speaking about his Ankole long-horned cattle, industrialisation, retirement and his general appearance.
Mr Museveni’s letter follows a series of debates on social media on the use of a public road by his cattle and his appearance in pictures, among others.
In the detailed letter posted on his website yowerkmuseveni.com, he noted that one of the bazukulu (grandchildren), as he usually calls the citizens, had said that he looked tired, to which Mr Museveni replied:
“I am not tired at all. I have, however, deliberately lost weight by shedding off that fat that I had allowed to accumulate on my body frame because the doctors had not explained to us clearly the mistake of not fighting fat.”
He revealed that he had lost 30kg in his bid to reduce fat. Later he said he would come back to explain how he moved from 106kg to 76kg which matches his 5.7 feet height and intends to maintain it at that.
People who saw his full statement went into a frenzy.
A lawyer and poet Eron Kizza tweetted; “There’s nothing wrong with aging. Facts speak for themselves. Only people that are aging labour to explain away their aging.”
While others found it ironical that the President addresses the youth as his bazukulu (grandchildren) yet he remains adamant to a possibility of aging.
Efforts to get a comment from Senior Presidential Press Secretary Don Wanyama were futile.
He declined to comment, saying the President said he would be writing about the matter and obesity in detail.
Mr Museveni also talked about crime, security, cattle and infrastructure development among others.
“I sent out a message to the general channels that you call platforms…..
Some of the responders were negative. Retire, they shouted at me. That will be decided by our Party, the NRM and the People of Uganda.
Others wondered how me posing with my cattle helps the unemployed bazzukulu…. One of the contributors thought that I looked tired. I am not tired at all. I have, however, deliberately lost weight by shedding off that fat that I had allowed to accumulate on my body frame because the doctors had not explained to us clearly the mistake of not fighting fat.
In future, I will explain to you this awareness. I have moved from 106 kgs to now 76kgs. I will stabilise my weight at 76kgs because that is the one that matches with my height of 5.7 feet,” the President told the social media responders.
“Before I talk about the anti- obesity campaign, however, in my next message I will talk about education in order to put in focus the recent strike at Makerere.
One of the negative contributors said I had made a tarmac road for my cattle while other Ugandans have no accessible roads. Wrong. One reason I bought land in the Kisozi area in 1990 was because it was far away from tarmac roads. One reason I bought land in Rwakitura in 1967 was because it was very far away from the tarmac roads.
In fact, there was no road of any description in that area except the nearly impassable Kazo-Lyantonde and Rushere-Kinoni. Cattle do not need nor do they eat tarmac. They eat grass and drink water. The tarmac road you saw in the picture is not for the cattle but for the People of Butambala, Gomba, Ssembabule, Masaka…” he added.
