President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has strongly defended Uganda’s industrialisation agenda in a blistering response to journalist Andrew Mwenda, accusing critics of undermining the country’s economic transformation and siding with “neo-colonial” interests.

In a statement dated May 23rd, 2026, Museveni rejected claims questioning his judgment and portrayed himself as a determined defender of Uganda’s push for value addition, manufacturing and self-reliance.

“Mr. Mwenda, thank you for declaring me senile and incapable of judging right. You will, however, discover that at 82, I am still able to defend Uganda and myself with the Bible, the AK-47 and the pen,” Museveni said.

The President challenged Mwenda to visit local factories and innovation projects before dismissing them as failed ventures, pointing to entrepreneurs and industrial projects he says are proof of Uganda’s economic progress.

“Visit Magoola’s factories in Matugga and Kamuli. Visit Tugume’s factory in Ntungamo. Visit Professor Muranga’s banana project in Bushenyi,” he noted.

Museveni particularly defended Kiira Motors and Uganda’s industrialisation strategy, arguing that critics are comfortable keeping Africa dependent on raw material exports instead of processed goods.

“The Do-nothingers like Andrew Mwenda claim to save government money from loss-making projects. Yet, they happily cohabit peacefully and gleefully with the neo-colonial status quo of confining Africa to producing and exporting unprocessed raw-materials where we lose so much value,” he said.

Using examples from the gold and coffee sectors, Museveni argued that Uganda is beginning to benefit from value addition policies that retain more wealth within the country.

“The stubborn old man of Uganda who is senile, banned the export of all unprocessed minerals. There are now 10 gold refineries in Uganda. The gold exports from Uganda have now hit USD 7.48 billion,” Museveni stated.

The President also defended the government wealth-creation programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), saying they have contributed to growth in coffee production and household incomes.

“What caused the boom of coffee from 3 million bags to now 8.8 million bags bringing into the country USD 2.4 billion?” he asked.

Museveni further accused Mwenda of damaging investor confidence by publicising internal government disagreements and claimed similar criticism had previously disrupted major infrastructure projects.

“Ugandans, ignore the likes of Andrew Mwenda. They are always trying to sabotage our growth and transformation,” he cautioned.

While closing his remarks on a defiant note, Museveni said Uganda’s industrialisation journey would continue despite setbacks and criticism.

“Failure from which we learn lessons, is success,” he noted.