Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has blasted the deep state and the fake news media during an interview with NPR ahead of the country’s presidential election.
Museveni, a social conservative, is running for re-election against liberal candidate Bobi Wine.
Although he has served as a close ally of the United States while in office, Museveni expressed dismay that the U.S. deep state appeared to be funding riots in the guise of “peaceful protests”, which were aimed at ousting him from office in a color revolution.
“[Protesters] were attacking other people, because they have been told that they should cause an uprising here like happened in Libya, like happened in Syria… so they are [American] agents,” he told NPR.
“They are no longer part of a protest movement. They are now agents of foreign schemes, here.”
Museveni had previously described Wine as an “agent of foreign interests” and closely aligned with the pro-homosexual lobby. In contrast, Museveni has emphasized a patriotic, Uganda-first agenda, and a strong stance against homosexuality. He has also been credited with a recent era of economic prosperity in Uganda.
He added that although he believed in the right to protest, the rioters’ attacks on police, civilians and property meant a strong response was necessary.
“According to the police procedures, if people are protesting, there is a way you handle it — but if now they overrun — overrun, for instance, a police station — you will have to stop it by using lethal fire,” he said. “Rioting and attacking civilians and attacking property, it is something that we cannot accept.”
“America has got one of the best presidents ever,” Mr Museveni said to laughter during the opening of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
“I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly. The Africans need to solve their problems, the Africans are weak.”
In recent days, big tech giants Twitter and Facebook have engaged in censorship of the Museveni presidential campaign and its supporters, prompting the President to ban these social media platforms from the country, in order to stop them interfering with the outcome of the election.
