President Museveni has hit back at journalist Andrew Mwenda over claims that old age has weakened his ability to monitor government affairs, describing the outspoken commentator as a “do-nothinger,” “traitor,” and agent of neo-colonial interests.
In a lengthy response posted as a comment to a story published by The Independent, Museveni dismissed Mwenda’s allegations that “conmen” were taking advantage of his age to secure government funding for fake projects.
“Mr. Mwenda, thank you for declaring me senile and incapable of judging right,” Museveni wrote. “You will, however, discover that at 82, I am still able to defend Uganda and myself with the Bible, the AK-47 and the pen.”
Mwenda had argued in his article that the President’s “advanced age” had left him “intellectually and physically exhausted,” making it easier for individuals close to power to manipulate him into funding “projects of dubious value.”
“Many Ugandans close to power have learnt this lesson,” Mwenda wrote. “That the president is old and exhausted, both intellectually and physically. He has a limited ability to monitor many things across a large spectrum of sectors.”
But Museveni rejected the claims and instead defended several government-backed projects Mwenda reportedly questioned, including herbal medicine ventures, agro-industrial projects and the state-backed Kiira Motors initiative.
“You are supposed to be a journalist. Why do you not interview these ‘conmen’ such as Magoola, Senfuka, etc.?” Museveni asked. “Visit Magoola’s factories in Matugga and Kamuli. Interview people who testify that they were cured by Senfuka’s mixture of herbs.”
The President accused Mwenda of undermining Uganda’s industrialisation agenda and siding with foreign interests determined to keep Africa dependent on exporting raw materials.
“The do-nothingers like Andrew Mwenda, always running around noisily telling lies, claim to save government money from loss-making projects,” Museveni said.
“Yet, they happily cohabit peacefully and gleefully with the neo-colonial status quo of confining Africa to producing and exporting unprocessed raw materials.”
Museveni also cited what he described as gains under his government, including the growth of coffee exports, dairy production, gold refining and industrialisation efforts, saying critics like Mwenda had consistently opposed Uganda’s economic transformation.
“What could be the real motive of Andrew Mwenda of externalizing in the social media our internal discussions, including the Cabinet?” Museveni asked.
“It is to scare away our partners because the likes of Andrew Mwenda are worried by the success of Uganda’s economy.”
The President further accused Mwenda of previously sabotaging the Bujagali power project, linking him to opposition against Uganda’s development programmes over the years.
Despite acknowledging that some projects may fail, Museveni insisted experimentation and persistence were necessary for national transformation.
“Failure from which we learn lessons, is success,” he wrote.
