Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in Wednesday for his sixth term as president, as police surrounded the home of his main opposition rival who decried the inauguration as a “sham”.
Museveni, who won re-election in January despite widespread reports of irregularities, took the oath of office at a ceremony in Kampala broadcast on national television and attended by several African heads of state and other foreign dignitaries.
The ceremony was witnessed by other dignitaries including the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo; Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of Somalia; the President of Burundi, General Évariste Ndayishimiye; Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Hage Geingob of Namibia; Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan; Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Alpha Condé of Guinea; Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and the President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde among others.
Rwanda was represented by Prof. Manasseh who was received by State Minister for Sports, Hamson Obua and Rwandan High Commissioner to Uganda Joseph Rutabana.
Museveni, the 76-year-old, wearing a dark blue suit and his trademark wide-brimmed safari hat, promised to “pay true allegiance” to the East African country he has ruled nonstop since taking power as a rebel leader in 1986.
His victory in January was overshadowed by the bloodiest pre-election crackdown in years, with opposition candidates forcibly prevented from campaigning and dozens of protesters killed by security forces.
