Museveni graces Africa Day celebrations

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will this Friday afternoon preside over the Africa day celebrations at the International University of East Africa (IUEA). African Unity Day, also known as Africa Day is celebrated annually on 25 May.

It commemorates the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on this day in 1963. The OAU was replaced by the African Union. It is a public holiday in nine African nations which include Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The event in Uganda has been organized by the current dean of African Group of Ambassadors and High Commissioners together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The activities slated for the day are being observed under the theme, "winning the fight against corruption, a sustainable path to Africa's transformation." 

Key panelists who will present lectures at the event include Justice and Constitutional Minister Kahinda Otafiire, Inspectorate General of Government Justice Irene Mulyagonja, Makerere University political economist Prof. Julius Kiiza Major Frank Mugambage who is Rwanda's Ambassador to Uganda. The event will be moderated by Andrew Mwenda who is Independent Magazines Managing Director.

In an interview with New Vision IUEA's Hassan Sematimba said they had also invited several other dignitaries to grace the occasion. He noted that they had invited President Museveni because his message as a great pan Africanist on this occasion would benefit the audience including youth from different Universities.

On 25 May 1963, African leaders from 30 out of the 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia creating the OAU whose sole purpose was to help bring about change, freedom and independence to many African countries.

In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community, and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union.