Is Museveni the only person in Africa who still wears face masks?
Nine months after his government eased restrictions on wearing face masks in public, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni still religiously wears them.
And that’s not all.
It appears everyone visiting or coming into close contact with the Ugandan President has to wear a face mask.
Recently, Kenya’s Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria visited President Museveni in Kampala with a special message from President William Ruto.
The message was delivered by a CS Kuria whose face was covered by the N95 face mask.
Mr Kuria says the two leaders discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional, continental, and global issues.
In a series of tweets, Mr Kuria also shared that the two countries would conduct an analysis on agricultural, manufacturing, and service potential with a view to joint supply chain planning.
“In particular, I thanked President Museveni for allowing the limited exportation of Iron Ore to Kenya on special consideration.”
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting President @KagutaMuseveni at State House Kampala where I delivered a special message from his brother, H.E.President @WilliamsRuto. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/oNvaBb2gVW
— CS Moses Kuria (@HonMoses_Kuria) January 28, 2023
Also, when President Museveni visited Nairobi to witness the swearing-in of President William Ruto in September 2022, he was the only Head of State president with a face mask for the duration of the event.
He only removed it for a few minutes when addressing the public.
Besides donning the mask, Museveni, East Africa’s longest-serving President came to Kenya with his official car and entourage, complete with a mobile toilet and office.
The only exception to the face mask rule around President Museveni is, perhaps, President Ruto who visited Kampala in October, 2022, to grace Uganda’s 60th birthday celebrations without wearing one.
Ruto did not wear a face mask but all his entourage including First Lady Rachel Ruto, Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua, and his Kapseret lawmaker Oscar Sudi donned masks.
Analysts argue that Museveni’s advanced age, he is 78, is among the reasons he insists on wearing a face mask perhaps with the need to protect himself against contracting Covid-19
Those around him, including his son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba and First Lady Janet Museveni, are regularly spotted with face masks in public.
Face masks were introduced by the World Health Organization during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the ways of protection from contracting the virus.
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