The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
FULL INTERVIEW: President threatens to pull out of Somalia, blames Rwanda for their actions
Paris, France | THE INDEPENDENT | In an exclusive interview with France 24, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni condemned the coup d’état in Guinea, describing it as a “step backwards”. He said the coup leaders should be sanctioned and “get out”.
“It is a step backwards. Those military coups are of low value. We had them in the 60s and they were part of Africa’s problems… so I condemn it,” Museveni said.
Asked by France 24’s Marc Perelman if there should be sanctions on the coup leaders, he said, “they should get out, they should be told to go away. Those coups are not a solution. . because they are not a solution to the problems of the country.”
He said Uganda had agreed to temporarily resettle some 2000 Afghans on its soil at the behest of the US government, brushing aside concerns that they might be a security threat.
He said the US had erred in Afghanistan by fighting “other people’s” wars.
The President warned that he might decide to pull out Ugandan troops from Somalia as the country is beset by infighting between its leaders, which he described as “political AIDS”.
He revealed that “we wanted to withdraw but they prevailed on us.”
He claimed that the Jihadist group that took control of an oil-rich area in northern Mozambique a few months ago was tied the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group operating in eastern DRC. He announced that he is ready to intervene militarily in that region against the ADF and is only waiting for the approval of DRC’s president to go ahead.
“The issue of eastern Congo should be handled at the same time as that of Mozambique. If you do not deal with the issue of Congo, then you will not solve the Mozambique problem,” he said.
He blamed Rwanda’s president for shutting the border between both countries two years ago and denied claims by Paul Kagame that he was acting like the Master of the region.
He blasted criticism of international human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, accusing foreign powers of meddling in internal affairs.
He announced that a probe into the killings of over 50 protesters during the last presidential campaign back in November would be made public and promised that those responsible would be prosecuted.
He denied having been scared by the prospect that his main challenger during the election Bobby Wine could win. He added that he was ready to dialogue with him.
Museveni dismissed accusations that he is grooming his son Lt.Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to succeed him.
“Why should I groom my son? The people of Uganda are there, they will pick who they want,” Museveni said.
On his long stay in power, he said, “This is not a theatre for acting… scene 1 and 2. This is a struggle for destiny for the people of Uganda, of Africa. We have reasons why we had to fight, and why we had to be in the politics. It is those reasons that determine what we do…do we need all the cadres, all the actors, can some retire, and others come up? That is what determines.”
