There is no evidence that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been admitted to the hospital
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 5, 2021 at 18:24
- Updated on July 6, 2021 at 10:24
- 2 min read
- By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya
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On June 27, 2021, this Facebook post shared a screenshot of a tweet purportedly from national broadcaster NTV Uganda. The media organisation has since dismissed any connection to the screengrab and stamped it fake.
“Breaking News Museveni the Uganda murderer is in critical condition and has been taken to Germany for further treatment (sic),” the Facebook post reads.
On the same day, Kenyan media personality Charles Wahinya published a tweet (which has since been deleted), alleging that Museveni had taken ill and was admitted at a hospital in Nairobi.
The tweet circulated as a screenshot on Facebook as well as WhatsApp.
On June 28, 2021, the same claim began circulating in this Facebook post, which shared a video with a commentary claiming that the Ugandan leader had been “airlifted to Germany after collapsing while stepping out of his car”.
The post was viewed more than 12,000 times and attracted more than 400 reactions and comments.
However, AFP Fact Check has gathered evidence revealing that the claim of Museveni’s admission to any hospital in Nairobi or Germany following a sudden illness is false.
Official Duty
As the allegation about Museveni falling ill began to make the rounds online on the morning of June 27, 2021, the Ugandan leader attended the World Health Summit, where he delivered a speech to open the four-day event at Makerere University in Uganda's capital, Kampala. According to the program, his live speech was delivered at around 8:20 pm local time and televised here. The president's office has also shared pictures of the June 27 event.
Five days after the rumours started, Museveni joined other African leaders at a virtual UN gathering to discuss ways of transforming the global food systems ahead of a major summit about the issue in September. In this broadcast, Museveni can be seen contributing to the discussion during the meeting.
The president’s press secretary, Lindah Nabusayi, also confirmed that the claims were baseless, noting that “he (Museveni) was carrying out official duties”.
“It’s fake news. His Excellency is busy with his official work,” Nabusayi told AFP Fact Check on July 1, 2021.
Additionally, on July 5, 2021, the official Twitter account of the 76-year-old president posted pictures of him at his official residence in Entebbe, Uganda.
July 6, 2021 Deletion of the final sentence, which incorrectly stated that Museveni was set to give a speech on July 5, 2021.
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