Uganda President Yoweri Museveni Defends Somalia Mission as Opposition Decries Human Rights Record

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni told a summit of African Union troop‑contributing countries in Kampala that the continent will keep supporting the peace and stabilisation mission in Somalia even if Western partners withdraw. He said Uganda’s involvement is driven by principle, not geography, stating, “Uganda doesn’t have a border with Somalia… we decided to involve ourselves out of principle and strategy,” and warned, “If those Western countries want to pull out, that is their decision. Somalia is not going to be abandoned because of some people outside.”

Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, launched a sharp attack on Museveni, accusing him of “historic hypocrisy” over a record of human‑rights violations. Kyagulanyi cited decades of torture, enforced disappearances and unlawful detention, referencing his own 2018 arrest and the killing of his driver, and declared, “Millions have witnessed these violations,” calling the president’s recent condemnation of torture contradictory to lived experience in Uganda.