I Will Not Take Sides in Kenya’s 2022 Elections, Museveni Says

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says his government will not support any presidential candidate in this year’s Kenya elections.

Museveni, in an interview with Uganda's New Vision newspaper on Monday, insisted that elections are Kenyans’ affairs, adding that his country will not take sides.

“Elections in Kenya or any other African country are a matter for the people of that country,” said Museveni. “We never take sides in the internal affairs of other countries. So, we have no side in the Kenya elections.”

Museveni has enjoyed a close relationship with Deputy President William Ruto, who is eyeing the presidency in the forthcoming elections under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.

Ruto came under heavy criticism from Ugandans in 2015 after he openly endorsed Museveni’s presidential bid and accompanied him in his campaign trails in the Kapchorua and Bukwo districts. This did not go down well with Uganda’s opposition politicians, who accused him of meddling in the country’s politics.

Ruto and a section of his allies were also hosted by Museveni in 2019 at State House Kampala where they held a three-hour meeting whose agenda was not made public.

In July last year, the Kenyan deputy president was invited by Museveni as the chief guest at the official groundbreaking ceremony for a vaccine manufacturing plant. A month later, Ruto was barred from traveling to Uganda alongside his team on grounds he did not have a clearance from State House as required of all State officers.

Ruto, who was set to meet with Museveni, claimed the fiasco was part of a scheme to scuttle his 2022 presidential ambitions. The deputy president insisted that he is under no obligation to seek permission or disclose details of his private trips to anyone.

His dalliance with Museveni has sparked speculation about a possible interest by the Ugandan president in Kenya’s 2022 election outcome.