Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in, on Tuesday 12th May, 2026, for a fresh five-year term at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, taking the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of President.
The ceremony was attended by at least 15 Heads of State alongside regional and international dignitaries.
The 81-year-old leader arrived solo in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles at around 11am and headed straight to the saluting dais, where he inspected an armed forces parade as part of the official inauguration proceedings marking the transition from his 2021-2026 term into a new mandate expected to run until 2031.
He was accompanied through the parade inspection by his son and Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, flanked by heavily armed elite Special Forces personnel.
The ceremony, however, was not without its talking points.
First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni was conspicuously absent from the event, a detail that did not go unnoticed among the tightly packed, predominantly yellow-clad crowd at Kololo.
Janet has traditionally been a visible presence at key national events, including presidential inaugurations, and has attended at least the last three swearing-in ceremonies.
She was last seen in public over a month ago.
Museveni’s swearing-in formally extends one of Africa’s longest-running tenures in power into yet another term.
Yoweri Museveni first came to power in Uganda on January 26, 1986.
He assumed the presidency following a five-year guerrilla war led by his National Resistance Army (NRA) (later the National Resistance Movement, NRM) against the regime of Tito Okello. He has remained in power ever since, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in Africa.
