President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged African military and political leaders to abandon identity-based politics and adopt unity, patriotism, and economic transformation as tools for national and continental progress.
Museveni made the appeal while addressing senior military officers and students from Burundi’s Senior Command and Staff College, who visited him at State House Entebbe on April 10, 2025. The 26-member delegation, led by Col. Jonas Sabushimike, visited Uganda to learn from its political and socio-economic journey under the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
“Politics is like medicine. If you make the wrong diagnosis, you will make the wrong prescription, and the patient will not be healed,” Museveni told the officers. “Many post-independence African leaders misdiagnosed the continent’s problems by focusing on tribe, religion, or race instead of asking: ‘Why are our people poor?’”
Museveni explained that the NRM’s success was built on four core principles: patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy. He said Uganda’s journey to stability and growth has relied on clear ideological direction rather than identity divisions.
“Tribalism is an obstacle to economic progress. If I have bananas and milk and my neighbor has the same, who buys from whom? That is why we embraced patriotism — not as sentiment, but as strategy,” Museveni said.
He emphasized the need for African nations to cooperate and integrate markets across the continent, explaining that prosperity depends on both production and access to wider markets beyond local communities.
“When Uganda stabilized, we found ourselves with surplus maize, milk, sugar, and bananas. That’s why Pan-Africanism became essential — to open up markets across borders,” Museveni said.
The President also underscored the importance of modernizing agriculture, manufacturing, and services to shift Africans from subsistence living to wealth creation. “You cannot modernize if you are only digging for the stomach. You must work for the pocket too,” he noted.
Brig Gen Saad Katemba, the UPDF’s Director of Training and Doctrine, welcomed the delegation and praised Uganda and Burundi’s strong ties, noting that the tour offered a chance for both nations to share experiences on peace, security, and development.
“This study tour is an important platform for sharing knowledge and reinforcing our commitment to regional peace and growth,” Brig Gen Katemba said.
Col. Sabushimike, who led the Burundian officers, thanked President Museveni for the warm welcome and the lessons on leadership and African unity.
“Your Excellency, the wisdom you’ve shared on rejecting politics of identity in favor of patriotism, democracy, and socio-economic transformation will guide our officers in their future leadership roles,” he said.
Col. Sabushimike added that Uganda’s commitment to regional cooperation and Pan-African ideals made it the ideal destination for the college’s strategic field study.
“We return home with a renewed understanding and commitment to build sovereign, peaceful, and prosperous nations. Thank you, Your Excellency, for your leadership and enduring vision for Africa,” he concluded.