Kampala, Uganda – Kololo Independence Grounds hosted the inauguration of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for a seventh term. The ceremony, themed “Protecting the Gains, Making a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status,” featured military pageantry and a large contingent of international guests. A 21-gun salute marked the occasion with attendance from numerous heads of state and delegations from liberation movements and fraternal parties including South Africa’s ANC, Tanzania’s CCM, Rwanda’s RPF, and China’s Communist Party.
Heads of state present included President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia, President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, President Daniel Francisco Chapo of Mozambique, President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé of Togo, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Brahim Ghali of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon including emeritus Presidents H.E Jakaya Kikwete, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, H.E Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Rwanda sent its Prime Minister, while the U.S. delegation was headed by Nicholas Checker, Senior Bureau Official in the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, representing President Donald Trump alongside U.S. Ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp.
In his address, President Museveni framed the 2026–2031 term as a “kisanja of no more sleep,” with a focus on wealth creation, jobs, and value addition. He said the government had built the foundation with infrastructure and peace and now needed to bring every Ugandan into the money economy. He urged civil servants to align with that priority and warned against complacency and corruption. President Museveni also acknowledged Tanzania under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Mozambique for their role in laying the groundwork for the UPDF. He outlined plans to accelerate the Parish Development Model and Operation Wealth Creation, and noted that Uganda was entering the oil production phase. The term, he said, would prioritise industrialisation, regional integration, and reducing reliance on raw material exports.
The turnout of regional leaders highlighted Uganda’s role in East African integration and security cooperation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handled protocol and logistics for visiting delegations. The inauguration was positioned as both a domestic milestone and a signal of Uganda’s foreign policy direction for the term ahead.
