Uganda’s old president becomes new president again

UGANDA (eTN) – All roads were leading to the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds today, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took his oath of office for another term of 5 years.

UGANDA (eTN) – All roads were leading to the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds today, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took his oath of office for another term of 5 years. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic Ugandans had lined up along the perimeter, watching the ceremony unfold, after “M7” arrived at the stroke of 11:00 am and then awaited the arrival of his fellow presidents and heads of government honoring him and Uganda on this day with their presence – a resounding vote of confidence in the stability of the country.

The end-of-February election win of President Museveni, which also saw a two-thirds NRM majority return to Parliament, paved the way for the function today.

The head of the Electoral Commission declared the President duly elected before Chief Justice Odoki administered the oath of office to the jubilations of all present, while a 21-gun salute was fired.

Cultural groups from all corners of Uganda performed dances and songs, while the Uganda Peopleโ€™s Defense Forces performed the Honor Guard and executed a textbook march past, spurred by the tunes of the Uganda Police Band, arguably the best in the country. The Uganda Air Force also staged a fly past with the fighter jets, ejecting pink clouds into their trails, which caused the crowd to go wild, as the color pink has in recent days gained special significance when dealing with opposition rabble rousers in the streets.

Notably, the East African anthem was played ahead of the Ugandan anthem when the function commenced and ended, signifying a firm commitment towards further regional integration and cooperation during the Presidentโ€™s new term of office.

Defeated presidential candidate Abed Bwanika was also given a strong ovation for being present on the occasion, having put his defeat behind him, while other defeated candidates had opted to stay away from the function for reasons best known to themselves and best described as an act of childish defiance.

The full text of the Presidentโ€™s acceptance speech is available in due course from Ugandaโ€™s leading daily newspaper, the New Vision via www.newvision.co.ug , but significantly, the President did commit himself and his new government to tackle the current wave of price increases, as well as ensure the safety and security of all law-abiding citizens in the country to be able to go after their daily business without fear or worries, while highlighting the NRMโ€™s achievements over the past 25 years since it came to power after dislodging the last of the notorious dictatorships in January 1986 and bringing peace, development, and progress to the country.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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