PRESIDENT John Magufuli was on Thursday the toast of hundreds of people who attended the swearing-in of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, as they wildly applauded when he was being introduced at the Kololo Independence Grounds.
Mr Museveni was sworn-in for another
term as Uganda president at a ceremony attended by dozens of leaders and
dignitaries, and beamed live by local and international television
stations.
When he marched to the podium to
introduce the heads of state who attended the ceremony just few minutes
after taking oath of office, Mr Museveni started introducing one leader
after another.
When it was Dr Magufuli’s turn to be
introduced, the crowd wildly cheered him as he stood up to acknowledge
the ecstatic reception. Dr Magufuli is popular among East African
Community (EAC), member states for the radical changes he has embraced
in Tanzania including spearheading the fight against corruption since he
took over office late last year.
And when it was time to leave the
grounds, journalists surged forward to book Dr Magufuli for exclusive
interviews. However, their efforts hit a brick wall as the Tanzanian
leader declined to address the media.
Accompanied by a small delegation, the
Head of State jetted into Uganda on Wednesday from Arusha aboard a
private Tanzanian jet. He arrived in Kampala in his second trip outside
the country since he took oath of office in November last year.
Earlier, amid ululations, President
Museveni signed the oath of allegiance and was handed the instruments of
power by the Chief Justice, Mr Bart Katureebe, a few minutes to 12
noon.
The instruments included a copy of the
Ugandan Constitution, the national flag, the presidential standard, a
copy of the national anthem, the coat of arms, and the public seal. A
sword and a shield (the symbol for Uganda's defence forces) were also
handed to the president.
The ceremony was attended by several
heads of state, among them presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Omar
al-Bashir (Sudan), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe),
Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger).
Also in attendance were two former
Tanzanian presidents, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Jakaya Kikwete. Other
leaders who were cheered by the crowd are Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and
Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
Introducing Mr Al-Bashir, President
Museveni said his country was less concerned with the indictment of the
former by the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We are less concerned
with the ICC because initially when it was introduced, we thought they
were serious.
But it has come to our knowledge that
that court is a bunch of useless people.’’ Mr Museveni was declared
winner of the February presidential elections after garnering 60.75 per
cent of total votes cast.
His closest challenger Dr Kizza Besigye
of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) got 35.37 per cent, while former
Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, who challenged the results in the Supreme
Court and lost the case, came third with 1.43 per cent.
Mr Museveni, who is the chairperson of
the ruling NRM, came to power in 1986 after carrying out a
five-year-long protracted guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Luwero
triangle (1981-1986)
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