The rumours about her ill health have spread widely on social media. They can be traced to a post on X by lawyer and writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who claimed that the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, had been admitted to Mbuya Military Hospital in a critical condition.
Since then many Ugandans on social media have created memes of an ailing Mrs Museveni fighting for her life.
On March 30, the rumours gained momentum amid reports that President Museveni’s official jet had landed in Atlanta, Georgia. Many speculated his wife was on that aircraft and was seeking medical treatment in a foreign country.
But government officials reacting to the aircraft rumour said the plane was in Georgia for routine maintenance. Alan Kasujja, the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, a clearing house for government communication, added his voice, echoing what the officials said on X.
This reaction seems plausible. But those rejecting it remember that in 2003, Mr Museveni’s daughter Natasha flew to Germany on her father’s official aircraft just to give birth.
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Whatever has been said by individuals who are close to Mrs Museveni ignores one important point. The minister may not be seriously ill—even though in public she looks frail and seems to walk with difficulty—but why hasn’t her ministry released any statement to dispel the rumours? And—crucially—why has she not appeared in public?
The silence from the ministry and the State House have added fuel to the fire, so to speak. Mrs Museveni would put the rumours to rest if she just attends church this Easter Sunday in the company of her husband of more than 50 years.
If she does not, the rumours will stubbornly stick around like the stench of a (poisoned) decomposing rat in the slums of Katanga.
The meme creators are having a field day and are not about to rest. They are sharing the memes with alacrity. But the more revealing story is not the rumour itself—it is the reaction to it.
One issue that has raised concern among Ugandans, especially those who sympathise with the governing NRM, is the celebratory mood around the rumour. It tells you just about everything that has gone wrong with our leadership.
In a normal country with no serious leadership problems, rumours about a president’s wife being seriously ill would trigger a sombre mood and prayer sessions, with the faithful beseeching God to intervene and save her life.
But Uganda is different. There are many people who genuinely wish the rumours are true, and you can tell this in the tone of their social media posts.
There are also Ugandans who do not have any regrets or apologies for what they are posting. They are angry, and they are saying that the bad news should have come yesterday.
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Why the anger? Hundreds of Ugandans are languishing in prisons on trumped up charges. They cannot be tried. They cannot be freed. Some have young children they miss dearly—and they are not about to see those children.
Friends and relatives of those Ugandans are angry. But the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs they should turn to cannot help them.
They know that Mohammad Segirinya and another former MP named Allan Ssewanyana were in the same situation, but the judiciary never helped them.
Mr Ssegirinya died months after he was freed. Many others remain in prison. For those people and their loved ones, rumours about ill health of anyone close to the president does not feel like tragedy. They view it as someone having their comeuppance.
🔴 Musaazi Namiti is the Founder and Editorial Director of OJ-UGANDA. He previously led the Africa Desk at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, worked for Globe Media Asia in Cambodia and writes a widely read column for Uganda’s Sunday Monitor. His work has been quoted by The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report—not for playing it safe, but for saying what others will not.