The ‘Last King of Scotland’ Still Haunts Uganda’s 40-Year Ruler
Idi Amin traumatized Uganda in less than a decade. Yoweri Museveni is repeating the trick much more slowly, scholar Mahmood Mamdani argues.
Illustration by Haley Jiang for Bloomberg
There was an unexpected tone of humility from one of Africa’s longest-serving strongmen. Last May, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, Janet, made a joint speech in which they publicly apologized for their wrongs over four decades at the nation’s helm.
It seemed like an epiphany from a first couple not given to introspection. Pundits were perplexed: Was Museveni preparing to retire? Or was the contrition in fact a pitch to extend his rule?