President John Magufuli was on Thursday the toast of hundreds of people who attended the swearing-in of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, as they wildly applauded when he was being introduced at the Kololo Independence Grounds.
Mr Museveni was sworn-in for another term as Uganda president at a ceremony attended by dozens of leaders and dignitaries, and beamed live by local and international television stations.
When he marched to the podium to introduce the heads of state who attended the ceremony just few minutes after taking oath of office, Mr Museveni started introducing one leader after another.
When it was Dr Magufuli’s turn to be introduced, the crowd wildly cheered him as he stood up to acknowledge the ecstatic reception. Dr Magufuli is popular among East African Community (EAC), member states for the radical changes he has embraced in Tanzania including spearheading the fight against corruption since he took over office late last year.
And when it was time to leave the grounds, journalists surged forward to book Dr Magufuli for exclusive interviews. However, their efforts hit a brick wall as the Tanzanian leader declined to address the media.
Accompanied by a small delegation, the Head of State jetted into Uganda on Wednesday from Arusha aboard a private Tanzanian jet. He arrived in Kampala in his second trip outside the country since he took oath of office in November last year.
Earlier, amid ululations, President Museveni signed the oath of allegiance and was handed the instruments of power by the Chief Justice, Mr Bart Katureebe, a few minutes to 12 noon.
The instruments included a copy of the Ugandan Constitution, the national flag, the presidential standard, a copy of the national anthem, the coat of arms, and the public seal. A sword and a shield (the symbol for Uganda’s defence forces) were also handed to the president.
The ceremony was attended by several heads of state, among them presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Omar al-Bashir (Sudan), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger).
Also in attendance were two former Tanzanian presidents, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Jakaya Kikwete. Other leaders who were cheered by the crowd are Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
Introducing Mr Al-Bashir, President Museveni said his country was less concerned with the indictment of the former by the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We are less concerned with the ICC because initially when it was introduced, we thought they were serious.
But it has come to our knowledge that that court is a bunch of useless people.’’ Mr Museveni was declared winner of the February presidential elections after garnering 60.75 per cent of total votes cast.
His closest challenger Dr Kizza Besigye of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) got 35.37 per cent, while former Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, who challenged the results in the Supreme Court and lost the case, came third with 1.43 per cent.
Mr Museveni, who is the chairperson of the ruling NRM, came to power in 1986 after carrying out a five-year-long protracted guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Luwero triangle (1981-1986).
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