Juba, South Sudan,
July 08, 2021 – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered national security personnel to look for social media users peddling false reports on his death and eliminate them.
In a clip pre-recorded by State broadcaster the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), Museveni said another threat to Uganda was not security-related but rather the prevalence of social media warriors.
“Another problem we need to solve I don’t think it’s a security problem but it’s an idiotic problem; social media,” Museveni told a sparsely populated audience.
“Social media has apparently been saying that Museveni is dead. So the other day when I went to the side of Bombo [in Wakiso District] to lay the foundation, people were really looking surprised because they were told by social media that Museveni is dead or something like that,” he added.
Museveni, who is serving the 6th term of his presidency has implored the state security agents to track down those who have circulated reports on his death.
“So, the security service needs to solve that problem. I need to check with them to locate quickly the ones who tell such a story because you waste people’s time,” Museveni said.
Ugandans currently pay tax to access social media. However, the move seen as a repressive measure to stifle freedom of expression by the government did very little to water down the influence of social media. Museveni is now sending state agents on a surveillance mission against social media users.
“They should go for you, they should locate where you are and go for you,” said Uganda’s longest-serving President adding that “If you’re in Europe we denounce you. We say go to hell.”
Rumors on the alleged death of Museveni have been circulating on social media with some claiming that the First Secretary of the National Resistance Movement was airlifted to Germany for treatment.
The reports turned out to be false after a healthy-looking Museveni was pictured at a ground-breaking event marking the laying of a foundation for building a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing center in Wakiso District. The event was attended by Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto.
