Uganda president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is facing massive criticism online after making it clear he\u2019s seeking a seventh term, though he previously spoke against African rulers obsessed with power.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Multiple Ugandans under the age of 40 have known only one president \u2013 and that age cap covers over three-quarters of the population.<\/p>\n
In 1986, Yoweri Museveni claimed power following an armed uprising. Today, he is 81, and still believes he has all it takes to lead the future of his nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
READ ALSO: Why Ibrahim Traor\u00e9 Is a Threat<\/a><\/p>\n Although critics are against Museveni\u2019s long spell in office, his time at the helm has come with a long period of peace and significant development<\/a>, for which many citizens are grateful.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, maintaining his grip on power through a mixture of sidelining opponents and compromising independent institutions is where his critics draw the line.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t believe in [presidential] term limits,\u201d he once told the BBC<\/a>, after winning a fifth election.<\/p>\n Only a year later, Museveni removed the age limit for a presidential candidate- paving the way, many believe, for him to become president for life.<\/p>\n Back in 1944, Museveni was born into a family of cattle keepers in Ankole, western Uganda.<\/p>\n It was during Uganda\u2019s struggle for independence from the United Kingdom that he came of age, as it was a period of brutality and turbulence under Milton Obote and Idi Amin.<\/p>\n Museveni wrote in his memoir that for many years, he did not know his birth date. \u201cWe had real life-threatening challenges such as extra-judicial killings and looting\u2026 we had no time to worry about details such as dates of birth.\u201d<\/p>\n Then in 1967, he left Uganda and was enrolled in the University of Dar es Salaam<\/a> in Tanzania.\u00a0<\/p>\n He studied economics and political science there and forged alliances with politically active students from around the region.<\/p>\n In the 1970s, Yoweri Museveni\u2019s name gained prominence after a coup by the notorious Amin.<\/p>\n He helped form the Front for National Salvation \u2013 one of the rebel groups that, with Tanzania\u2019s help, ousted Amin.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the fall of Idi Amin, former President Milton Obote returned to power through a general election, but Yoweri Museveni rejected the result, alleging that fraudulent activities had taken place.<\/p>\n He launched a guerrilla war in 1981, and in 1986, his National Resistance Movement seized power, making him president.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Museveni, Uganda recorded steady economic growth averaging more than 6% annually over a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Primary school enrollment doubled, and HIV rates declined after a vigorous anti-AIDS campaign led by the president.<\/p>\n These gains earned Museveni Western support, but in 1998, his standing suffered when Uganda and Rwanda<\/a> invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also, critics accused him of growing intolerance and clinging to power.\u00a0<\/p>\n