President Yoweri Museveni has called on young people across Africa, especially Generation Z, to channel their energy into building unity and driving economic transformation rather than engaging in riots and street protests over local grievances.

Speaking on June 26, 2025, to a group of 52 senior military officers attending the Senior Command and Staff Course at the Kimaka Military College, Museveni emphasized the power and potential of Africa’s youth as a transformative force. But he warned that their energy must be harnessed for constructive purposes.

“Africa’s Gen Z should not be rioting over isolated local issues,” the President said. “They should be championing East African integration because true and lasting prosperity lies in a unified regional market and a collective future.”

Museveni argued that Uganda’s domestic market is too small to support large-scale industrialization and economic expansion, highlighting the urgent need for regional and continental economic cooperation.

“This is why I continue to champion Pan-Africanism, regional integration, and political unity,” he said.

The President also reminded leaders and citizens alike that the foundation of wealth creation lies in production and trade.

“The path to prosperity lies in producing and selling a good or service,” he noted. “It starts with value addition, not vandalism.”

The President made these remarks due to the deadly protests in neighboring Kenya, where thousands of mainly Gen Z demonstrators took to the streets in widespread anti-government protests against President William Ruto’s administration. The protests, which turned violent, left at least eight people dead and over 400 injured after police clashed with protesters, awakening memories of similar unrest that gripped the country in 2024.

Museveni cautioned that such turmoil only undermines progress and stability and urged African youth to rise above short-term frustrations.

’’We must not allow ourselves to be instruments of chaos. Instead, we should channel our energy into lasting solutions through unity, productive enterprise, and the transformation of our continent,” President Museveni emphasized.

His message was a clear call for generational responsibility and a redefinition of activism, one rooted not in disruption but in the pursuit of shared economic goals across borders.