MAYUGE, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has dismissed reports suggesting that he intends to wage war against Kenya over Uganda’s status as a landlocked country lacking direct access to the Indian Ocean.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday night at State Lodge Kityerera in Mayuge District, the President clarified that his earlier statements, which had been made during a public address in Mbale, were taken out of context.
He asserted that his comments were focused on long-term strategic security considerations for landlocked nations, rather than expressing hostility toward Uganda’s neighbors.
President Museveni confirmed that Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, had recently traveled to Uganda to seek clarification on the matter.
Museveni assured the Kenyan government that Uganda remains committed to strengthening regional cooperation, not creating friction.
Focus on environmental protection
The President used the briefing to address local issues, including environmental protection. He noted that traditional activities, such as harvesting papyrus for roofing, weaving mats, mulching gardens, and fishing, were sustainable, unlike modern practices like rice growing that drain vital wetlands.
“When you grow rice in wetlands, you dry the swamp, yet we need that water for irrigation on dry land,” he said.
Also Read: Raila Odinga urges President Ruto to resolve Kenya-Uganda Lake Victoria border dispute
Museveni argued that rice farming in natural wetlands yields far less income compared to ventures like fish farming, which he assessed could generate up to Shs 140 million per acre annually.
Action on land fraud
During the close of his week-long tour of the Busoga sub-region, the President also addressed a scandal involving the illegal acquisition of land titles in the Busoga South Forest Reserve. He vowed that the government would take firm action against those responsible for the fraud.
“I have been briefed on how people fraudulently acquired land titles in the forest,” he said. “We shall get them. Thieves are never clever—they forget that the land is here. We shall catch them.”
The President’s tour addressed a range of governance and development issues, including economic growth and environmental protection across the sub-region.
