Museveni joins the club of longest-serving African leaders

Uganda’s Museveni clings on as one of Africa’s longest serving leaders.

When Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is sworn in on May 12, 2021, he will take the first step towards joining the club of longest-serving African leaders who have led their countries for nearly four decades.

His re-election last Thursday will take Mr Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since January 1986, to 40 years in power by the next General Election in 2026.

The president, now aged 76, will be 81 by then.

His party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), also won a majority of the seats in the next Parliament.

Constitutional amendments

Mr Museveni has benefited from two constitutional amendments that were made at a time when he was becoming ineligible to seek re-election by removing the constitutional limitations to his candidature.