Yoweri Museveni

Yoweri Museveni (born 1944) has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986

Quotes

• Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else. The (helicopter) was very well equipped, this was my (helicopter) the one I am flying all the time, I am not ruling anything out. Either the pilot panicked... either there was some side wind or the instruments failed or there was an external factor.
  • On John Garang's death in a helicopter crash, 2005-08-05 [1]

• If Gen. Omar el Bashir's government gives me permission to pursue Kony beyond the red line, it will only take me 30 minutes to finish him and his fighters.
  • 2005-09-09 [2]

• Even when we were still fighting in the bush against the oppressive dictatorships of Idi Amin and Milton Obote, we introduced elections for the committees of the villages under our control.
  • On democracy, 2005-09-23 [3]

• In 1972, Idi Amin expelled 80,000 [Ugandan] Indians and confiscated their 4,000 properties. Now, after returning those properties to their rightful owners, we have ensured that security of persons and property are guaranteed under the constitution.
  • On security of persons and property in Uganda, 2005-09-23 [4]

• Africa is wealthy in natural resources; the problem is they are not optimally utilized.
  • 2005-09-23 [5]

• When we sell a kilo of bean coffee in Uganda, we get one dollar per kilo. The same kilo, when it is processed [and sold in Britain], goes for $10, $11 or even more a kilo. That is the same situation [price disparity] that goes for all raw materials.
  • 2005-09-23 [6]

• I've never heard an agency say, 'Unless you industrialize I will not support you.
  • 2005-09-23 [7]

• We fought a lonely battle against terrorism sponsored by Sudan, and we have defeated it; we cannot be intimidated by any force. For us our guide is the Constitution of Uganda and the laws there under.
  • Assuring Ugandans that nobody can disrupt their peace, 2007-11-26 [8]

• I shall not be deterred by people who don't see where the future of Africa lies. It is the short-sighted people who put their opinions in writing. They don't understand that the future of all countries lies in processing.
  • Defending the allocation of forest land to a sugar company, 2007-04-13 [9]

• You cannot, for instance, sustainably protect the environment if the majority of the people are still in primitive agriculture leading to the encroachment of forest reserves.
  • At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, 2007-11-23 [10]

• If we could export more finished products instead of raw materials, we could become a middle-income country.
  • Stressing the need for more economic growth during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, 2007-11-25 [11]]

• The island is in Kenya, the water is in Uganda... But the [Luos, a Kenyan ethnic group] are mad, they want to fish here but this is Uganda.
  • On Migingo Island's ownership, 2009-05-13 Kenyan MPs' fury over island row

• One of Museveni's defining early pronouncements was his diagnosis of Africa's problem. Africa's problem, he would say, was leaders who did not want to leave power.
  • Quoted in The Guardian, 26 Jan 2011

• Some people think that being in government for a long time is a bad thing. But the more you stay, the more you learn. I am now an expert in governance.
  • Quoted on "Global Briefing", April 2012