Museveni sworn in as Uganda's president for sixth term

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was today sworn in as Uganda's president. Museveni will serve his sixth term as the East African country's president for the coming five years. He was sworn in by Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Uganda's chief justice, in a ceremony which was attended by more than 4,000 guests. In his address, Museveni promised to observe the laws and promote the welfare of Ugandans.

Several African heads of state were in attendance, including Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta, Tanzania's Samia Suluhu, South Sudan's Salva Kiir, Democratic Republic of Congo's Felix Tshisekedi, Ghana's Nana Akufo Addo, Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa, Namibia's Hage Geingob, Burundi's Evariste Ndayishimiye, Somalia's Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, and Alpha Conde of Guinea.

Museveni won the Jan 14 polls with 58.64 percent of the votes against his closest challenger Robert Kyagulanyi, who garnered 34.83 percent.

With Kyagulanyi rejecting the results and urging citizens to boycott the swearing in, his home in Kampala, Uganda's capital, was surrounded by security operatives as a preventive measure following intelligence information that some members of opposition were allegedly planning to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony. This was according to Deo Akiiki, Uganda People's Defense Forces deputy spokesperson. The police and army also heightened security in Kampala and surrounding areas.