Museveni: The day I was summoned to court under a tree
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has reminisced over on incident in the past when he was summoned to a Court of Law under a tree. While sharing his New Year message to the people of Uganda, Museveni, 78, quoted Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, saying there was a time for work and a time for playing.
President Museveni urged Ugandans to put in equal effort in the work at hand before expecting an equal reward in 2023. The head of state then narrated how as a young boy he once got into trouble for neglecting his duties of herding cows to play a football match.
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In a tweet, the longest-serving president in East Africa said that was the only time he entered a Court of Law after electing to join other boys in playing football and neglecting his father’s herd of cattle that were in his care with them descending on someone luscious millet farm.
“Running at full speed, I tried to save whatever was remaining of the millet. It was, however, too late. I had committed the offense of okwonesa. From a layman’s understanding, it means one’s livestock eating the crop of another citizen. This temporary attraction to village football qualified me to appear before the Parish Court at Kikoni, under a mutooma tree – omutuba – ficus nantelensis – in Mzee Katojo’s rutookye (banana plantation),” Museveni recounted.
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“I was, then, coached, I do not remember by who, to say: ‘omushaango ningwikyiriiza’ – I plead guilty to the charge – and that by so doing, it will be better for everybody. I think Mzee Kaguta had to pay the millet owner some enkaitsi (compensation).”
The only time, I entered a Court of Law, was in 1956, when, being attracted by a game of football, I joined the other boys to enjoy the sport (because I was a good footballer), only to discover that the cattle I was herding had descended on a Mwananchi’s luscious millet garden. pic.twitter.com/6S3wqTGCj5
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) January 2, 2023
President Museveni has ruled Uganda for almost four decades and has benefited twice from constitution change. His family members are the biggest beneficiaries of his regime with a significant number of them holding government positions.
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