Power-hungry despot Museveni’s anarchic obsolete (mis)rule, marked by grave human rights violations and the promotion of terrorism both at home and across the region, is finally receiving scrutiny on the international stage.
To no one’s surprise, the U.S. Department of State issued a Level 4 travel advisory, strongly warning people against traveling to Uganda amid Museveni’s escalating campaign of abductions, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other serious human rights violations.
“We issue Travel Advisories with Levels 1–4. Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL.
We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there. These places are dangerous.
Do not go for ANY reason,” the U.S. Department of State said in the advisory, which places Uganda in the same category as terrorism-affected countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
The move came months after U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R–Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on the Trump administration to reassess the U.S. security relationship with Uganda, beginning with a review of whether sanctions are warranted under existing legal authorities.
Senator Risch’s appeal was inspired by the January sham elections, which he described as a hollow exercise staged to legitimize Museveni’s seventh term and more than four decades in power.
The senior U.S. official stated that Museveni’s regime “prioritizes domestic control through political violence, abductions, imprisonment, intimidation of opponents, and the misuse of state resources to maintain its grip on power.”
He further underscored the acknowledged view that criminal Museveni remains a regional destabilizer, particularly in South Sudan, emphasizing that his regime has become an “increasingly problematic exporter of instability.”
The advisory also comes at a critical moment as Washington continues to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on several current and former Ugandan officials from Museveni’s inner circle over human rights abuses and corruption.
The United States consistently ranks as Uganda’s largest overseas tourism market, accounting for roughly 18% to 20% of all non-African international visitors traveling for business and leisure.
This underscores the significance of the travel advisory and the potential impact it could have on Uganda’s tourism sector, which thief-in-chief Museveni has effectively personalized by siphoning off its revenues for his own benefit.
It is noteworthy that the very Western powers that once aided and abetted Museveni’s rise to power now appear increasingly disillusioned with his rule and its excesses. This shift deserves recognition.
Indeed, Museveni must go now!