President Yoweri Museveni has responded sharply to veteran journalist and long-time ally Andrew Mwenda following an opinion article in which the journalist questioned the president’s judgment and mental capacity.
In an April 20, 2026, commentary published in The Independent, Mwenda criticised Museveni’s continued support for several local pharmaceutical and industrial projects, arguing that the 82-year-old president was being misled by questionable businessmen.
Among those cited by Mwenda were local herbalist David Senfuka, who reportedly sought $1 billion to establish a pharmaceutical plant to produce herbal cancer and diabetes treatments, and Dei Pharma founder Dr Matthias Magoola, whose company has received substantial government backing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology projects.
More than a month later, Museveni issued a lengthy response, accusing Mwenda of advancing Western interests opposed to Africa’s industrialisation and self-reliance agenda.
“Mr Mwenda, thank you for declaring me senile and incapable of judging right,” Museveni wrote. “You will, however, discover that at 82, I am still able to defend Uganda and myself with the Bible, the AK-47 and the pen.”
The president challenged Mwenda to directly investigate the businessmen he had criticised instead of dismissing their projects outright. Museveni pointed to Magoola’s factories in Matugga and Kamuli, Senfuka’s herbal treatment initiatives, Tugume’s factory in Ntungamo and Prof Muranga’s banana project in Bushenyi as examples of local innovation deserving support.
Museveni also defended state-backed industrial projects such as Kiira Motors, accusing critics of promoting a neo-colonial economic structure that confines Africa to exporting raw materials instead of finished products.
“The do-nothingers like Andrew Mwenda… happily cohabit peacefully and gleefully with the neo-colonial status quo of confining Africa to producing and exporting unprocessed raw-materials where we lose so much value,” Museveni said.
The president cited Uganda’s gold, coffee, dairy, banana and palm oil industries as examples of sectors benefiting from value addition and industrialisation policies. He noted that Uganda had banned the export of unprocessed minerals and now hosts 10 gold refineries, with gold exports reportedly reaching $7.48 billion.
Museveni further defended the Parish Development Model (PDM) and other government wealth-creation programmes, arguing that they had contributed to increased coffee production and broader economic growth.
The president also accused Mwenda of deliberately leaking internal government and Cabinet discussions to social media in a manner aimed at undermining investor confidence and sabotaging Uganda’s economic progress.
According to Museveni, Mwenda had previously opposed the Bujagali Electricity Project, contributing to power shortages experienced in Uganda during the mid-2000s.
“Ugandans, ignore the likes of Andrew Mwenda. They are always trying to sabotage our growth and transformation,” Museveni wrote.
The president concluded his response by defending experimentation in industrialisation efforts, arguing that even failed attempts are preferable to what he described as “neo-colonial doldrums.”
He compared Uganda’s development journey to a child learning to walk, insisting that setbacks should not discourage ambition
