Kyankwanzi, April 8, 2026 — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on African leaders to prioritise scientific advancement and regional integration, warning that the continent risks being left behind as global powers push deeper into space exploration.
Speaking at the opening of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliamentary retreat at the National Leadership Institute, Museveni said Africa must move beyond basic political independence and invest in strategic capabilities, including space science.
“One of the historical missions was to ensure that Africa is never again threatened or marginalised. However, when we got independence, people started relaxing,” Museveni said. “We are supposed to have Uhuru na Umoja and create the East African Federation.”
The President emphasised that regional unity is key to achieving strategic and scientific progress. “That is why we are for the political federation of East Africa. We don’t want to fight other people, but we want to be able to go into the ocean and find out what is happening in there, and for security purposes,” he said.
Museveni went further to highlight the importance of space exploration, pointing to ongoing global missions as a reminder of Africa’s current limitations.
“For now, we are not there, not even the moon,” he said. “We also want to be able to go to the moon and see what is happening there. The moon is a common property for man, but we are just here in Kyankwanzi dancing paka chini when people are on the moon looking down at us like ants.”
He added: “As we are speaking now, one of the satellites of the USA is going around the moon. For us, we are here in Kyankwanzi eating macaroni. This is very dangerous.”
Global context: renewed race to the Moon
Museveni’s remarks come at a time when space exploration is once again at the forefront of global scientific advancement, highlighted by the ongoing Artemis II mission led by NASA.
Astronauts aboard Artemis II recently completed a historic crewed flyby of the Moon, capturing rare images of the lunar far side and the Milky Way galaxy. NASA described the visuals as unprecedented.
The spacecraft has since exited the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence and is currently on its return journey to Earth, with splashdown expected on April 10.
The Artemis programme is a key step toward returning humans to the Moon and eventually enabling crewed missions to Mars, underscoring the technological gap Museveni warned Africa must work to close.
PDM and Economy
The President also used the platform to defend Uganda’s economic trajectory, noting that growth has largely been driven by the private sector despite governance challenges.
“The economy of Uganda is growing even when the government is inefficient or corrupt, because the economic growth is private sector-led,” Museveni said.
He acknowledged concerns about corruption in government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“When I toured around the country to inspect PDM projects, there were complaints about corruption in PDM. The only place where people were happy with PDM was in Kasese. There were individual success stories, but there were several complaints of corruption even in some parts of Kampala,” he added.
Museveni also reiterated his long-standing stance on food security and self-reliance. “I have not eaten rice since I came back from Tanzania in 1979. I have my food: cassava, bananas, millet, peas, and groundnuts. When there was a war in Ukraine, people said we were going to starve. I said to myself, I won’t starve,” he said.
The retreat, which brings together Members of Parliament-elect and senior party leaders, was attended by top officials, including Vice President Jessica Alupo, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
