Museveni begins seventh term in Uganda

Russian-made fighter jets flew over Kampala’s ceremonial grounds as Yoweri Museveni took the oath for a seventh consecutive term, according to The Independent. The inauguration in the Kololo area drew thousands, and the new term extends his rule by another five years after roughly four decades in power. Much of the choreography, the paper reports, was overseen by the army chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba — Museveni’s son and the figure many Ugandans now treat as the likely next president.

Uganda’s formal politics still runs through ballots and parliamentary majorities, but the story increasingly runs through the security services. The Independent describes Kainerugaba as having become the final voice on defence and security, with analysts arguing the handover is already happening in practice even if the constitution has not changed. That matters because succession is where long-serving presidencies often reveal their real operating system: whether power is transferable through institutions that can survive a leader, or through personal networks that need constant enforcement.

Kainerugaba has publicly declared his intention to succeed his father, and allies in the ruling party have spoken openly about using parliament to smooth the path, The Independent reports. With an overwhelming majority, lawmakers could amend rules and present the outcome as legality rather than rupture — a cheaper route than a contested election, and one that keeps patronage intact. The same mechanism also concentrates risk: if the route to leadership is internal bargaining rather than public consent, the decisive audiences become generals, party brokers and financiers, not voters.

The opposition remains present but boxed in. Bobi Wine has twice run for the presidency and rejected the most recent election result, but the article portrays an environment where the ruling party’s control of the legislature and the security apparatus makes an electoral transfer of power a high hurdle. Even commentary from within pro-government circles, including a close ally quoted by The Independent, depicts an ageing president with reduced capacity to monitor multiple sectors — a vacuum that naturally pulls authority toward whoever controls the coercive tools of the state.

Museveni told Ugandans there would be “no more excuses” and urged families to build wealth. Above him, the jets passed in formation, and beside him stood the general who had rehearsed the parade.