Stolen Time: A Generation Hijacked by Museveni’s Endless Presidency
When Museveni took office, Nelson Mandela was still a prisoner. He would later walk free, lead South Africa out of apartheid, serve a full term, step down, and eventually pass on—leaving behind a legacy of humility and transition. Museveni, on the other hand, still dons camouflage and talks of “fundamental change.”
Uganda Today Edition: Stolen Time: A Generation Hijacked by Museveni’s Endless Presidency
By JB Muwonge | Special to Uganda Today
When President Yoweri Museveni captured power on January 26, 1986, Uganda and the world were profoundly different places. The country was recovering from years of political turbulence, but few could have imagined that nearly four decades later, the same man would still be at the helm of power—while the rest of the world turned chapters, Uganda remains stuck on page one.
In 1986, the iPhone had not yet been imagined. WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok were figments of science fiction, and social media influencers were unheard of. Uganda was writing love letters on paper, waiting days for replies, while today’s world moves in real time. Yet amid this global evolution, Museveni has remained the only fixed variable in Uganda’s equation.
When Museveni took office, Nelson Mandela was still a prisoner. He would later walk free, lead South Africa out of apartheid, serve a full term, step down, and eventually pass on—leaving behind a legacy of humility and transition. Museveni, on the other hand, still dons camouflage and talks of “fundamental change.”
South Africa transitioned. Rwanda rose from genocide to global admiration. Kenya has seen five presidents. The U.S. has elected seven different leaders, from Reagan to Biden. Uganda? Still waiting for its first peaceful presidential handover.
When Museveni took over:
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Uganda had 33 districts. Today, there are over 146, many argued to be politically motivated rather than service-oriented.
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Robert Mugabe, then six years into power, lasted 37 years. Museveni has already matched and surpassed that mark.
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Zaire’s Mobutu reigned and fell. Tanzania’s Nyerere stepped down voluntarily. The Soviet Union collapsed. The Berlin Wall fell. But in Uganda, the wall around State House grows ever taller.
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Even Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in the 1990s, has since built its own system of governance—yet Uganda remains in limbo, burdened by a political system tightly gripped by one man.
The economic landscape has shifted too. There was no 1,000-shilling note in 1986. Now, we count in thousands and millions—but leadership change? Still a taboo subject.
Today, over 85% of Uganda’s population was born after 1986. These are citizens who have never witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power. All they’ve known are recycled promises, state crackdowns, contested elections, and constitutional amendments that favor the incumbent.
The Daily Siege: Roads Closed, Lives Disrupted
While Museveni’s grip on the presidency continues, ordinary Ugandans now bear an increasingly unbearable burden—the militarized inconvenience of daily road closures to clear paths for the presidential convoy. Kampala’s already chaotic traffic gridlock is now worsened by routine, twice-daily shutdowns of roads, intersections, and junctions to pave the way for presidential motorcades.
What was once limited to Yusuf Lule Road and Northern Bypass junctions has now extended into the very heart of Kampala’s Central Business District (CBD) and Entebbe Road—cutting off not just vehicles but even pedestrian access, sometimes for over an hour at a time.
These closures occur every morning and evening, effectively paralyzing the capital city’s rhythm. Workers, traders, students, ambulances, and delivery vehicles are all brought to a frustrating standstill to accommodate a convoy that many now see as a daily symbol of disconnected power.
Public frustration has grown louder on radio talk shows, social media, and street corners. It’s no longer about respect or protocol—it has become a routine state-sponsored obstruction of the people’s right to movement and time. The capital, already reeling from economic strain and poor infrastructure, must now also plan its hours around a political motorcade.
For a generation already denied leadership change, even daily access to roads now seems like a privilege—not a right.
A Generation Frozen in Time
This isn’t merely about Museveni overstaying his welcome. It’s about a stolen generation—a future hijacked before the internet even arrived. The presidency has become less of a public office and more of a permanent possession. And every year that passes cements a worrying culture: that leadership is for life, and transitions are myths told only in other countries.
Museveni’s era has spanned the end of apartheid, the rise of tech giants, and the rebirth of nations. Yet Uganda remains a country where one man’s journey has overshadowed the dreams of millions.
Until Uganda rediscovers the value of transition, it risks becoming a museum of what could have been. The world has moved on. Uganda, sadly, is still buffering.
Published by www.ugandatoday.co.ug, your trusted source for news and analysis
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