Yoweri Museveni Quotations

May the soul of the late President Milton Obote... a long-time member of this parliament, rest in peace.

I've never heard an agency say, 'Unless you industrialize I will not support you.

None of the parties want this conflict to go on.

We used to fight the LRA with only one dimensional force that only walks on foot, but now, we have got multiple forces to fight the rebels.

What is the Geneva Convention on wars! I have never read it.

If we don't catch them, we shall kill them, ... These bandits are not able to permanently engage us because they will be wiped out. Now that they have invited us, I think they are going to find out that it was not a wise decision.

I am sure our real vote is likely 75 percent, ... But since we didn't get it, I will take what we saved from the rigging.

Our role is to wipe out insecurity ... if we have to eliminate those chaps by force, we will do it.

We fought a lonely battle against terrorism sponsored by Sudan, and we have defeated it. We cannot be intimidated by any force. For us our guide is the Constitution of Uganda and the laws there under.

This summit should bring peace to the Congo, ... We have to work toward democracy in the Congo because the lack of democracy is the source of this problem. That is our main challenge.

The rebels attacked us (NRA soldiers) at a place called Corner Kilak 20 miles South of Kitgum (Town). They came in while singing and shouting; our people (NRA) massacred those chaps. They approached our troops frontally. This gave us a very good chance because they exposed themselves; so on Sunday (January 24, 1987) we surrounded them and massacred them. We massacred them very badly.

There are always arguments, but we ended with a unanimous agreement.

You have been fighting but you did not have the expertise. You are like that the unprofessional cook who cooks malakwang (an Acholi delicacy), but now we said come here and become better cooks, if you have been quack doctors, we have trained you and made you professional doctors ,

Some people say accident. It may be an accident, it may be something else, ... very well equipped . . . the one I am flying all the time. I am not ruling anything out. Either the pilot panicked, or there was some side wind, or the instruments failed, or there was an external factor.

an immediate cessation of hostilities and the determination to sign a cease-fire as soon as possible.

You see when you give them (civil population in the North and East) a good beating then those who are using them will no longer use them. Since the month of January (1987), we have given them much beating especially in Lira and Kitgum Districts. And in fact the week I left (for Yugoslavia) we had given them a good blow in Gulu District. So it is going to settle down.

If (the rebels) don't negotiate, it will be chaotic, ... A military option will be successful but will plunge Zaire into chaos.

I myself will not rule out anything. It may be an accident, it may be something else. I am looking at all possibilities.

If Gen. Omar el Bashir's government gives me permission to pursue Kony beyond the red line, it will only take me 30 minutes to finish him and his fighters,

I don't think we are destroying people's crops. We are destroying rebel crops and stores.

We certainly would be happy for more help, but not at the price of condescension and arrogance. If the Europeans believe they can afford to be less committed in Somalia, please - we can deal with it ourselves.

If I kissed my wife in public, I'd lose the next election.

I've changed my mind, even against Omar al-Bashir. Whether he has to be charged or not, the Sudanese shall decide or the Africans.

Joseph Kony is hiding somewhere in the Central African Republic. He is no longer a threat. We have already punished him. We provide our own safety.

The problems of tribal conflicts in Kenya are much older, caused by the former colonial power. A former American ambassador there once wrote about how the CIA has contributed to the divisions between Kenyans.

We are helping our Somali brothers get rid of these narrow-minded attackers. The Somali people do not support the extremists, they are on the side of our soldiers.

Our population is growing rapidly because of our good health policy. When I came into office, there were 14 million Ugandans, today there are 38 million, despite the catastrophe of AIDS, which we have also tackled. The Ugandans know and appreciate this, especially the elderly.

Our laws and institutions are excellent, but the population is not yet ready. They must develop their views and need to be provided with the right information. We now also have private broadcasters and many are very critical of me, hostile even, yet they operate freely.

It is very unlikely that Uganda will face a chaotic scenario similar to that in Syria or other places. Incidentally, doctors, scientists, engineers and nurses are highly sought after and find jobs immediately.

Today, hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients are under medical treatment, which is a great advancement. But it makes some people reckless.

Of course there are collaborations. But in official meetings with Western diplomats from the US and the European Union, the major issues of our relationships are simply not discussed. The topics are on climate change or any other issues they want us to agree with them on. But they never discuss how we could develop an equal relationship. They should stop using pompous orchestrated summits and begin a serious dialogue with small meetings.

Since our region is endowed with a lot of natural resources, including reasonable supplies of fresh water, we need and we can work together to ensure this area against these vicissitudes.

I did not, I could not and I will never invite Obote, ... This is because Obote is someone who made a lot of mistakes in our history.

Some intelligence officers filed reports saying that this is a dangerous group, but at one level it was not forwarded, it was just ignored,

In the areas which have been disturbed people are living cordially with the Security Forces. In areas like Gulu people are living peacefully. There is scrupulous respect of human rights.

The chaotic situation in Libya is definitely creating a threat. Libya now connects the jihadists in Africa with those in the Middle East and in Afghanistan. This could have been avoided.

When we sell a kilo of bean coffee in Uganda, we get one dollar per kilo. The same kilo, when it is processed [and sold in Britain], goes for $10, $11 or even more a kilo. That is the same situation [price disparity] that goes for all raw materials.

You cannot, for instance, sustainably protect the environment if the majority of the people are still in primitive agriculture leading to the encroachment of forest reserves.

My critics always forget to mention that I was democratically elected, the others were not. Everyone in Uganda can challenge me, everyone can vote, the elections are free. Not many countries have achieved what we did.

When the problems in Libya started, the African Union set up a committee to address the situation. We urgently advised the Europeans not to intervene. You have done so anyway. Now we are seeing absolute chaos there.

I was against impunity when it comes to human rights violations. But many of us African leaders now want to leave the Rome Statute as soon as possible because of this Western arrogance.

One of the emphases of the new democratic order is no impunity.

I have made revenue collection a frontline institution because it is the one which can emancipate us from begging. If we can get about 22% of GDP we should not need to disturb anybody asking for aid; instead of coming here to bother you, give me this, give me this, I shall come here to greet you, to trade with you.

Africa is wealthy in natural resources; the problem is they are not optimally utilized.

Refugee problems can only be solved in the region (of origin) - maybe with a little help from the UN. Governments must provide something for their countries. They need to deliver.

The Islamists had control over territory that was about half the size of the Federal Republic of Germany. For years, we have been putting the lives of our troops on the line, we have taken huge losses and the Europeans cut the budget? If money is more important than the lives of our children, what else is this than the usual arrogance and superficiality? And where is all this terror coming from? It is a result of mistakes the West committed in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1980s, when they armed the Islamic rebels against the Soviet troops.

We do not accept the Western way of thinking that there are two ways of life. At the same time, the police (here) are not chasing gays. In Africa, sexuality is something very private, even for heterosexuals. Heterosexuals are not parading! But gays want to behave like exhibitionists.

I don't pick up people. This is the work of the police. If there's anybody with a case, it's the police, not me.

The island is in Kenya, the water is in Uganda... But the [Luos, a Kenyan ethnic group] are mad, they want to fish here but this is Uganda.

The soldiers feel that the Police are not serious with the criminal elements and that they are corrupt. The army had to come in and insist that criminals must be punished. It happens in all countries, there is a time when the army assumes the duty of internal security.

I shall not be deterred by people who don't see where the future of Africa lies. It is the short-sighted people who put their opinions in writing. They don't understand that the future of all countries lies in processing.

Some people think that being in government for a long time is a bad thing. But the more you stay, the more you learn. I am now an expert in governance.

I don't know about torture. I have educated myself on many things but on torture I have not known the boundary between what is torture and what isn't torture. I know the NRA tie these people (rebels, etc.) when they catch them. They tie their hands backwards. I am now being told that is torture. It is the traditional method.