I am not grooming my son for presidency, says Museveni

President Museveni has swiftly dismissed talk that he is grooming First Son, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to be his immediate successor when he eventually retires.  

“Why should I groom my son? The people of Uganda are there. They will select whom they want,” he said on Tuesday during an interview with France 24’s Marc Perelman.

Lt Gen Muhoozi has kept some semblance of a calm political profile about the ill-famed 'Muhoozi Project' often touted by many prominent figures.

But Mr Museveni termed as not serious-the sources and adherents of the claims. 

On social media, believers in the 47-year-old UPDF Commander of Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi, have created several movements mainly disseminating content of approval on this divisive issue. 

Although some critics accuse Mr Museveni of rapidly promoting his son through the army ranks, he recently said ‘‘the ranks go with the levels of training.’’

The Ugandan strongman whom his succession talk has three decades down the road found comfort in speculation and uncertainty, says it’s still too early to call for his retirement. 

“This is not a theatre for acting scene 1, scene 2…This is a struggle for destiny for the people of Uganda, of Africa,” he remarked.  

Asked to comment on his 35-year grip to power, Mr Museveni said: ‘”We have reasons why we had to fight and be in politics and it is those reasons that determine what we do.”

Through the interview, Mr Museveni further pushed claims that his closest losing opponent ‘rigged’ in the disputed January 14, 2021 polls. 

“Originally they started off as an internal group because of our internal issues but then they get recruited by external actors and then that’s how his (Bobi Wine) movement failed. He was defeated in spite of cheating,” he said. 

Mr Museveni who seized power in 1986 also rebuked the September 5 army putsch that toppled President Alpha Conde- noting that Guinea's military junta “should get out and be told to go away because they are not part of the solutions to that country.”

“We had them (coups) in the 1960s and they were part of Africa’s problems. We don't accept the idea of coups,” he echoed.

Mr Museveni, 76, urged sanctions for the authors of the takeover in Conakry and also voiced opposition to military expeditions on foreign territory.