Uganda leader seeks new term

NAIROBI – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers, will stand for re-election in 2011, state media said yesterday.

The former rebel leader – who was a darling of the West in the early years of his more than two-decades in power – angered critics by winning the last election in 2006 after parliament scrapped presidential term limits. Following a build-up of rumours and leaks that Museveni, 64, was deciding on a fourth election bid, the state-run Sunday Vision newspaper said his deputy had confirmed it.”The vice-president, Professor Gilbert Bukenya, has revealed that President Yoweri Museveni will continue as the flag bearer for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the 2011 presidential elections,” it said.Landlocked Uganda lies on a crossroads of trade routes from the mineral-rich forests of eastern Congo to oil-producing southern Sudan and Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.Bukenya said he had been meeting people across the country and had no doubt the Movement would win in 2011.Seeking to squash rumours he might want the top job, the vice-president said he could not compete with Museveni.”How can I turn against my mentor?” he said.Rifts have emerged in the NRM in recent months, with factions appearing for and against Museveni, who seized power in 1986.Museveni himself has not commented publicly on his plans beyond this five-year term in power.The former cattle herder and student activist has been credited with creating a big rise in living standards for most Ugandans, though the country still remains desperately poor.First hailed by the West as a business-friendly example of a new generation of African leaders, donors have become critical of his increasingly autocratic style.Museveni’s main challenger in 2006 was Kizza Besigye, his former doctor and close ally during the bush war.Besigye was briefly arrested before the polls and charged with rape, treason and terrorism, but still won 37% of the vote.He later challenged the election result in court, but lost.Leading critics of Museveni’s leadership from within his own party are two former health ministers and a former internal security chief.All three are being investigated over the alleged misuse of public funds.Nampa-ReutersFollowing a build-up of rumours and leaks that Museveni, 64, was deciding on a fourth election bid, the state-run Sunday Vision newspaper said his deputy had confirmed it.”The vice-president, Professor Gilbert Bukenya, has revealed that President Yoweri Museveni will continue as the flag bearer for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the 2011 presidential elections,” it said.Landlocked Uganda lies on a crossroads of trade routes from the mineral-rich forests of eastern Congo to oil-producing southern Sudan and Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.Bukenya said he had been meeting people across the country and had no doubt the Movement would win in 2011.Seeking to squash rumours he might want the top job, the vice-president said he could not compete with Museveni.”How can I turn against my mentor?” he said.Rifts have emerged in the NRM in recent months, with factions appearing for and against Museveni, who seized power in 1986.Museveni himself has not commented publicly on his plans beyond this five-year term in power.The former cattle herder and student activist has been credited with creating a big rise in living standards for most Ugandans, though the country still remains desperately poor.First hailed by the West as a business-friendly example of a new generation of African leaders, donors have become critical of his increasingly autocratic style.Museveni’s main challenger in 2006 was Kizza Besigye, his former doctor and close ally during the bush war.Besigye was briefly arrested before the polls and charged with rape, treason and terrorism, but still won 37% of the vote.He later challenged the election result in court, but lost.Leading critics of Museveni’s leadership from within his own party are two former health ministers and a former internal security chief.All three are being investigated over the alleged misuse of public funds.Nampa-Reuters