🔴 This is an accountability story about a public official whose unexplained absence from duty raises legitimate public questions.
What we know
On March 28, rumours began circulating on social media that Janet Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, was critically ill and had been admitted to Mbuya Military Hospital.
On the same day, Patience Rwabwogo, Mrs Museveni’s daughter who heads Covenant Nations Church, announced on Facebook that she had postponed a thanksgiving service that had been scheduled for that same day at Kololo Independence Grounds. The notice, posted on the church’s official Facebook page, said the event was “postponed until further notice.”
No reason was given. A new date is yet to be announced.
Also on March 28, according to Flightradar24, a flight-tracking website, President Yoweri Museveni’s official jet (5X-UGF) departed Entebbe International Airport en route to Savannah, Georgia.
The flight was also tracked by FlightAware. It did not take the usual northern route: Entebbe → Khartoum → Red Sea → Egypt → Mediterranean → Europe → Atlantic → United States. Instead, from Entebbe it flew to Cape Verde and then on to Georgia. Cape Verde is an island country off the West African coast.
The reason for this routing remains unclear. A former Uganda Airlines pilot told OJ-UGANDA flight paths depend on factors such as aircraft performance and operational considerations.
Savannah is the Gulfstream manufacturer’s home service base. Junior minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, reacting to reports about the plane, said it had gone for routine maintenance. This was echoed by Alan Kasujja, the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, a government clearing house.
President Museveni is currently in the country.
What we asked—and what we were told
We contacted the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to seek comment on flight 5X-UGF. Vianey Luggya, public affairs manager, said: “We provide infrastructure for the airport. That is not in our mandate.”
We also contacted the Ministry of Education and Sports. The phone numbers listed on the ministry’s website—+256(0)-41-4259338, Toll Free Main: 0800-100-257 and Toll Free TELA: 0800-377-771—did not yield any response.
The Uganda Media Centre’s two phone numbers listed on its website did not go through. The centre also did not respond to our email.
What the government has not explained
Mrs Museveni’s last public appearance was on March 21 at a fundraiser at Seeta College. This is documented on her own X account. She also last posted on that date. No official statement has been issued by the government or her ministry to explain her absence from public duties since then.
A silence of more than 10 days from a minister who posts regularly raises questions. It may mean she has taken a break from public communication, or that she is unable to do so for various reasons. Either way, the public would reasonably expect clarity.
The questions have only deepened in light of events on April 1. The Ministry of Education and Sports publicly announced that Mrs Museveni would officiate at the UVTAB Nov/Dec 2025 Assessment Results release at 10:00 AM at the UVTAB Secretariat. The ministry used a promotional graphic featuring the minister herself to publicise the event.
She did not attend. No explanation was given.
If the rumours are false, why has the government not addressed them?
Timeline
- March 21 — Last public appearance and last post on X
- March 28 — Rumours begin circulating on social media
- March 28 — Presidential jet (5X-UGF) departs Entebbe
- April 1 — Misses scheduled official event without explanation
Who is Janet Museveni
Born Janet Kainembabazi Kataaha on June 24, 1948 in Kajara County, Ntungamo District, Mrs Museveni attended Kyamate Primary School and Bweranyangi Girls Secondary School but did not follow the conventional Ugandan education path.
She completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Makerere University in 1997, at nearly 50 years old. She also holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Development from Sweden.
She has been married to President Yoweri Museveni for more than five decades. The couple have four children, including General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the head of the military.
In 2016, she was appointed Minister of Education and Sports, having previously served as Minister for Karamoja Affairs and as Member of Parliament for Ruhaama County in Ntungamo District.
She is the founder of Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), established in 1986 to support children affected by war and HIV/AIDS. She is also the founder and patron of the National Strategy for the Advancement of Rural Women in Uganda (NSARWU), which focuses on economic empowerment of rural women.
🔴 Brief But Hot brings you short, sharp takes on stories that are of great public interest—politically charged, emotionally raw or socially explosive. These are not long reads, but they pack a punch. When something happens that demands attention now, you will find it here.
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