Political tensions and disagreements should not tear us apart – Janet Museveni

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Uganda's First Lady, Janet Museveni, has appealed to Ugandans not to be torn apart by political tensions and disagreements during election.

Delivering a closing prayer at the 27th National Prayer Breakfast at State House in Entebbe, Mrs Museveni prayed that leaders should lead by example and show that yes, it’s possible to disagree politically but still remain united as Ugandans.

“We pray that political tensions and disagreements will not tear us apart as we go into this election season. May we, as leaders, lead by example and show that we can disagree politically but still remain united as Ugandans.

Quoting 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Mrs Museveni said as Christ’s ambassadors, she appealed to Ugandans to lay hold of Christ’s divine favour and be reconciled to God.

“But all things are from God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation. It was God in Christ reconciling and restoring the world to favour with Himself, not counting up and holding against men their trespasses. So, we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We beg you for His sake to lay hold of divine favour and be reconciled to God, she said on Wednesday.

First Lady Mrs Janet K. Museveni's prayer in full:

Dearest Heavenly Father,

We gather here today on the eve of our 63rd Independence Celebrations. We come to You with hearts full of thanksgiving and praise for all Your Goodness and mercies towards us. We are very grateful for the miraculous way You have carried us through the course of this year and brought us safely to yet another Independence celebration. Your Word declares in Lamentations 3:22-23,” It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your Faithfulness!”

Lord, we are overwhelmed by Your tender mercies that You have shown to us in this year 2025 and throughout our journey as a nation. Uganda stands as a testament to Your unfailing love, power and faithfulness. Even when we fail and miss the mark, Your mercy and Grace is there to pick us up and restore us to our place in Christ. Thank You Father for the ultimate Gift of mercy that You gave to the world, in sending Your Only Son to us, Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. It is through Him and in Him and for Him that we live and breathe. 

Today, we meditate on the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke 15:11-32. What an amazing portrayal of the Father’s love for us. How unfathomable is Your love! Indeed, Apostle Paul declared in Ephesians 3:18-19,” That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, what is the breadth, length and height and depth of it. That you may come to know the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge; that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.”

How immense is Your love for us! How great is its depth and height and breadth! Lord, we thank You for Your love for us as individuals, families, communities and as a nation.

We have many lessons to learn from the parable of the prodigal son. Lessons that we can incorporate in our own lives and relationships. In spite of the selfishness and irresponsibility of the prodigal son, the loving Father never gave up on him. He continued to hope and wait for his return. When he finally returned, he did not berate him for all his carnal and sinful life. 

Instead, the loving father rejoiced and celebrated his return with feasting. This is a picture of Your love for us and shows us that You rejoice over even one soul that turns to You in repentance and faith. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd Who goes out in search of the one lost sheep and rejoices when it is found and brought into the fold of God.

The second lesson we learn is, the reconciliation between the older and younger son. The older son had been obedient to his father and served him, but yet he too did not understand his position as a son. He resented his father’s unconditional love and forgiveness of his wayward brother and asked why he had not ever received even a small goat as a reward. The loving father also showed this son that he had never understood his treasured position as a son and that everything the father had belonged to him.

Father, as we look at our own lives and condition as a nation, we see that often we fall into the two categories of sons. There are many who have wronged others and are living in spiritual and social exile from the family of God.

For whatever reason, they are living outside God’s best plan and design for their lives. Maybe they made a wrong choice years ago, but they are still living in the shadow of that mistake. Then others are in the second category. These are the ones who have been faithfully doing the right thing, but often sit in judgement and condemnation of others. They hold grudges and keep a record of others wrongs. They do not want to forgive and reconcile with their fellow brothers.

Lord, this has been our weakness as Africans for centuries. Often, we are selfish and myopic, we major on minors and in the wake of that, our people pay the heaviest price. Whether it is unbridled corruption, wars, political intrigue, disunity, tribalism and sectarianism; all these serve to further divide our communities and bring suffering to our people. It is a sad fact that across Africa conflicts still rage on between communities and nations. Here in East Africa, we see the conflict in Sudan, in the DRC and Rwanda. Often, we have to ask foreigners to come and mediate between our own people and nations. Lord, today we stand and ask You for forgiveness. You are the loving Father of all mankind and it is You alone who holds the solutions to our problems.

We pray for the healing of our hearts in Uganda and Africa. We pray for the restoration of families, relationships, communities and our nation. We pray that political tensions and disagreements will not tear us apart as we go into this election season. May we as leaders, lead by example and show that we can disagree politically but still remain united as Ugandans.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19,” But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation. It was God in Christ reconciling and restoring the world to favour with Himself, not counting up and holding against men their trespasses. So, we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We beg you for His sake to lay hold of divine favour and be reconciled to God.”

Finally, Lord we pray today that as individuals, families and communities, we will heed Your Word and be reconciled to You spiritually.

We pray for a spiritual awakening and revival in Uganda that will spread the light of Your Gospel and bring healing, reconciliation and restoration of our identity and position in Jesus Christ.