President Museveni celebrates 70th birthday

 

The jovial President paid tribute to his wife, Janet, for raising great children and for building the family.
 

 

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The President and the First Lady during the service. (PPU)
 

 

“When we got married, we faced turbulent times. I didn’t look after the children; it was Janet. She was very strict; she did all the work and I’m very grateful to her.

 

“The Banyankole say that when a man becomes of age he has to kwombeka (build a home). She built our home. Okwombeka now means getting an education, then a wife, then children and after that wealth. Janet has helped me do all this,” he said.

 

The ceremony that was organised by children and attended mainly by close family, started with a thanksgiving service led by Rev. Emmanuel Katamunanwire from Nshwere Church of Uganda.
 

 

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Rev. Emmanuel Katamunanwire presided over the service. (PPU)

 

The President later hosted his guests to a family lunch, where he shared warm thoughts about family.

 

“Make sure you have families. Life without family is meaningless. I hear some people like it that way, but this undermines the purpose life. I get a lot of happiness and purpose from my family. It is eternity; you pass on the torch. It is a part of eternity to have children,” he said, adding that they must also work to get wealth.

 

This, however, he said cannot happen if you do not love and fear God.

 

According to a press release from State House, the President urged his children to always help each other and not to allow another person to suffer if it is within their means to help them.

 

 

“Don’t be selfish. Help each other and don’t let people divide you. When you do that, God does your work for you.

 

“I have not done my work for my family, I have been working for Uganda and for Africa and most of my work has been done by God. I hope many of you will reach this age and surpass it,” he said.
 

 

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Geoffrey and Diana Kamuntu with their child. (PPU)

 

 

While paying tribute to his late parents, Amos Kaguta and Esteri Kokundeka, the President also thanked God for his life.

 

“I am grateful to my parents for raising and educating me. It gave me a very rare opportunity to do what I have done.”

 

 Museveni, who said he was born around September 15, 1944, revealed that there were no hospital records of his birth.

 

He added that from his mother’s account, who said he was born three months after a massive cattle vaccination (September) and an old woman’s narrative, who said he was born when she was harvesting omugobe (cowpea leaves) that usually takes place in September, he decided to be “diplomatic” and put his date of birth on September 15, 1944.

 

 

“I may not tell you the exact date; that I am not sure. But certainly, I am not in danger of not knowing the season,” the President said.

 

The First Lady and Minister of Karamoja Affairs, Mrs. Janet Museveni, said there is need to praise and thank God for the life of her husband, observing that like the biblical Gideon, God has taken Museveni through challenging times and sought him out to do many things for the country.

 

“God’s goodness has lifted this man and used him to do a multitude of things. We don’t take anything for granted. You have blessed us with wonderful children and grandchildren and we thank God,” she remarked.

 

 

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Brig. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his wife, Charlotte. (PPU)

 

Brig. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Special Forces Group Commander, on behalf of Museveni’s children, thanked God for the 70 years he has given their father and the 28 years they have lived as a family, saying for many years they all lived apart.

 

“We thank Mzee (Museveni) for what he has done for us as a father and holding the family together despite his busy schedule as a statesman. We ask God to protect you. For many years, we thought we might not live to see this day due to a lot of problems and trials,” he said.

 

 

 

Edwin Karugire (son-inlaw) told a story of one of his meetings with President Museveni when he sought his daughter’s hand in marriage in a nervous encounter.

 

 “I had sent an emissary to him to talk about the project, but he told the emissary “let him talk to me himself”.

 

"I had wanted to come with some uncles, but he insisted we meet privately. On that day, I found him watching discovery channel (television) featuring World War II documentary on Field Marshall Montgomery and General Rommel plus others.

"For me, I was more worried about Gen. Museveni whose daughter I had come to ask for. He watched the documentary from beginning to end as I sweated looking on in silence,” he said.
 

 

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Karugire said Museveni then talked to him about the merits of sobriety and even challenged him to a fight to see who is stronger, but he declined.

 

Sunday’s event was crowned by the President cutting a cake with his granddaughter, Nzima, whose birthday is two days before his.
 

 

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A close-up on the First Lady and the President as they cut cake. (PPU)

 

 

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The President’s sister Dr. Violet Kajubiri-Froelich and her husband. (PPU)