President Museveni no longer holds news conferences. If he has anything important (even trivial) to say he uses X. It has become his favourite social media platform. He banned Facebook after Meta, the company that owns the world’s most popular social network, shut down accounts linked to his government that were found to be fake and impersonated users to boost the popularity of posts.

Mr Museveni may argue he does not need journalists since social media does the same thing they do: telling Ugandans what he has to say. But this is a simplistic way of looking at the matter. The media’s principal role is to hold leaders accountable. At news conferences, journalists ask probing questions to get to the bottom of some issues the public wants to know.

Social media shields Mr Museveni from accountability. He says what he wants or what those who manage his platforms know he wants Ugandans to hear—and no follow-up questions are asked.

A deliberate refusal to hold news conferences or press briefings means the president is avoiding accountability and uncomfortable questions. 

Last week, we read news of MPs receiving shs100m each from the government, with no official explanation. Some highly placed sources at parliament declined to discuss the matter with journalists; others denied the money had been given to MPs.

Then Mr Museveni used X to respond to a matter that should have been discussed (ideally) at a news conference. He started by hitting out at opposition MPs. “Last night, on UBC, I saw a cluster of opposition MPs, led by one Kivumbi, expending a lot of energy on the supposed shs100 million per person given to MPs through classified funds, etc,” he wrote.

He then digressed and talked about funds he said are sent by foreigners to Uganda to influence politics in their favour. He also asked why those speaking out against the money in the name of fighting corruption have never talked about foreign funds.

Why is the president still lamenting about corruption when his government has the power to jail anyone found guilty of any crime? Why did he tell IGG Beti Kamya to go slow on the corrupt yet when NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi wants to address a mere rally, no effort is spared in stopping him?

But the two issues are not even related. If the government did not have anything to hide about the money it gave MPs, it should have been upfront about its intentions. The Speaker of Parliament or Mr Museveni himself should have told Ugandans why the MPs had to be given the money.

Giving taxpayers’ money to MPs without an official explanation and when everyone who has received the money cannot even admit they got it raises suspicion.

By contrast, getting money from a foreign country—especially if the money is not laundered and if the donor country has not violated any local laws governing politics—is not a problem.

Over the weekend, Mr Museveni shared another post that speaks to his failure to remain accountable. He said he had hosted chief administrative officers, town clerks and undersecretaries at the State House to confront the ‘irritants’, including corruption in education and healthcare, that undermine service delivery.

“We must protect the integrity of our health system and stop drug theft,” the president wrote.

Let us look at corruption. Why is the president still lamenting about corruption when his government has the power to jail anyone found guilty of any crime? Why did he tell IGG Beti Kamya to go slow on the corrupt yet when NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi wants to address a mere rally, no effort is spared in stopping him?

Why are opposition politicians arrested and jailed—the late Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana are good examples—without evidence of crimes committed, yet the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has never even got a slap on her wrist for the corruption that led the US and UK governments to sanction her.

When you are president and hold news conferences, journalists will ask you these kinds of questions. But when you use social media, you get away with almost everything. Yes, Ugandans comment on Mr Museveni’s posts, but a comment is not the same as a question from a journalist.

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