Museveni: Family man puts First Lady first

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He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord, says Proverbs 18:22.

When President Yoweri Museveni renewed his marriage vows to his wife, First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni, he was ‘standing on the promise' of this verse. 

At a function held in August 2013, at Nshwere church in Kiruhura district, the groom, clad in a black suit and white shirt and the bride in a crème trendy gown, thanked God for the 40 years in marriage, saying this is a journey they started as two people, but now a family of more than 20.

Museveni, looking directly into Janet's eyes, toasted to love and comradeship, to which a smiling Janet replied, ‘Amen', to applause from the guests.

Museveni hailed Janet for being transparent and religious, saying she prays regularly and constantly.

The couple was blessed with four children — Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba born in 1974, Natasha Karugire (1976), Patience Rwabwogo (1978) and Diana Kamuntu (1980) — who have given birth to bazukkulu (grandchildren). They are all now legally married.

Renewed commitment

During the ceremony, the couple renewed their commitment to love each other and asked for forgiveness where they wronged each other.

There was laughter when the bishop asked the groom to kiss his bride and the President said kissing was not African.

According to Janet Museveni's book, My Life's Journey, one can conclude that for the Musevenis, marriage has been a simple, realistic affair that they built on pure love and total commitment, right from the word go.

Aged 29, Museveni wedded a 25-year-old Janet on August 24, 1973 at a little church on Turnham Green in London, akin to a scientific wedding of today.

"…that day, we had a lot to do; for one thing we had no wedding bands. So, we hurriedly went to a jewellery shop to buy them. Since we did not have a lot of money, we only bought one wedding band for me…" Janet writes in her book on page 79.

The church wedding, however, came after a series of challenges that only extraordinary commitment could overcome.

Despite the challenges, Janet stuck with her man, for she was the only person who "understood the anointing God had placed on Yoweri's life," Janet adds.

Janet Museveni went into exile in 1971, when Idi Amin toppled the Obote I regime in a military coup.

When Amin's regime fell from power in April 1979, she moved back to Uganda from Tanzania, where she had been living in exile with her husband.

In February 1981; Janet Museveni and her children re-located to Nairobi, Kenya, where they lived with family friends, until 1983.

In 1983, they moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, and stayed there, until May 1986, four months after Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army had seized power in Kampala.

Affectionate spouse

On a number of occasions, Museveni has been seen holding Janet hand-in-hand.

The President might have a very busy schedule, but he does take time off to attend to family. He adores the First Lady and places her first.

In 2018, at the reading of the budget, the President walked into Kampala Serena Conference Centre holding Janet's hand, like a young couple in love.

One ought to have been observant to read the body language which shows compatibility and complementarity. 

It is important not to let someone's birthday pass by, more so if that someone really means a lot to you.

When Janet turned 69, Museveni, despite his tight schedule, took time and posted on his twitter handle: "today, First Lady turns 69. Happy birthday to Janet Museveni, a true matriarch to very many."

On Janet's 70th birthday, Museveni tweeted: "Maama Janet is an exemplary mother and has mothered many other children in this nation."

"Please join me in wishing Maama Janet a happy 70th birthday. She is an exemplary mother to our children and has mothered many other children in this nation. May God grant you many more years of continued health as you serve this country."

Advice to youth on marriage

Museveni has always advised the youth to respect marriage, saying the institution is the source of life.

"Finding the right partner is the greatest thing in life because that is what life is about. If you are married and blessed with children, life continues. All other things, such as education and property, are facilitation of life," he told a newly wed couple.

He often advises parents and guardians to send their children into marriage with reasonable gifts, to allow them start comfortable lives.

Museveni is concerned that many young people today are shunning or delaying marriage while others are adapting foreign cultures that are detrimental to their health and a risk to humanity.

The President observes that statistics show that a big percentage of young people of marriageable age are living single lives, a situation he describes as unbecoming and a serious diversion, calling for the support of religious leaders to address the challenge.

He says committing oneself to a spouse is a sign of great responsibility and a lifetime engagement out of one's will and advises those in marriage to take their vows serious.

While attending a wedding of his cousin, Phiona Akoragye, and her husband, Herbert Kihanda, in Entebbe on July 13, 2020, Museveni backed simple weddings, which he refers to as ‘scientific', insisting that what is important at any such event are the legal and spiritual elements, not the social fanfare.

At a post-wedding thanksgiving ceremony for Lt. Col. David Munyua in Moyo town in August 2016, Museveni called upon religious leaders to put more emphasis on teaching the young, the sanctity of marriage as provided by God for human perpetuation.

President Museveni urged the youth to embrace the institution of marriage by carefully selecting responsible, God-fearing partners for stable homes.

The President was speaking at the marriage ceremony of Isaac Kutesa and Yvette Kamurasi at Munyonyo Peace Hub in Kampala, during a church session where the newlywed couple tied the knot.

On December 30, 2018, the President urged youthful couples to protect marriages.

He attended the 50th wedding anniversary of Ignatius and Separanza Katto and congratulated them for exhibiting resilience and love andbeing role models to their children and other youth.

Museveni asked Katto's children and the other youth to borrow lessons from the experience of the Kattos, adding that although there are ups and downs in marriage, couples need to be firm and resilient and to protect their marriage.

His belief in the institution of marriage is undeniably backed by the number of ceremonies he has either attended or made personal financial contributions to.

Other views on marriage

According to an online publication ( marriage.com ), marriage benefits not only the couple, but everyone around that couple.

It helps in social bonding and even assists economically towards the community.

Marriage also benefits the families of both the partners and creates a new bond between the two, the publication avers.

One of the 14 qualities of an effective President of a country, it adds, is love.

An effective president must have selfless love for his family and his people and for the next generations.

In some cultures, marriage connects two families in a complicated set of property exchanges involving land, labour and other resources.

Position on marriage laws

Museveni is on record for having blocked the passing of the controversial marriage and divorce Bill, saying it contains anti people clauses.

According to Museveni, a bad, harsh or insensitive law that tramples on the fundamental human rights of citizens or affects their harmonious co-existence will never be passed.

Responding to concerns raised by several religious and political leaders on some of the clauses in the marriage and divorce Bill, Museveni said unless the Bill is well researched and debated to cater for the wishes, aspirations and cultural norms, as well as the rights of all citizens, it will not be passed into law.

He said the Bill needed a lot of consultation and wondered why some political players had in 2013 decided to re-table it without adequate consultation with him as the President and the population. 

Citing his own family relations, the President said whereas his late father Mzee Amos Kaguta believed in getting bride price from his children and practiced it, he does not believe in it.

Museveni said he never asks bride price for his children, but this did not affect his co-existence with his father as a family with each one doing what is good for him.

The most controversial clauses in the Bill included those on property sharing, cohabitation and bride price. the proposed piece of legislation has since been shelved.