Can we talk? Ugandans try to coax longtime leader to leave
KAMPALA, Uganda — Can one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders be talked into giving up power?
A new movement in Uganda wants to find out, encouraged by the president’s tentative embrace of a so-called “national dialogue” as the government is in a showdown with an opposition pop star whose popularity with disaffected young people is unsettling the ruling party.
The talks, set to be launched on Dec. 18, are being pushed by religious and civic leaders and some retired public officials who envisage a peaceful end to the presidency of Yoweri Museveni. He has held power for over 30 years and could extend his rule until the 2030s after lawmakers last year removed age restrictions on the presidency.
That decision, opposed by many Ugandans, left the door open for the 74-year-old Museveni to seek another term in 2021 and deepened concerns over the risk of a violent succession struggle the longer he stays in power.