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Museveni labels Trump assassination attempt cowardly

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024.

What you need to know:

  • According to information from the US Embassy in Kampala, Washington invests “almost $1 billion (about Shs3.8 trillion) annually in Ugandan communities.

President Museveni has condemned the attempted assassination of US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump during a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, describing it as “despicable and cowardly.”

Trump, a former president of the United States seeking to return to the White House in November, was almost killed by an assassin’s bullet. This was as the 78-year-old addressed a campaign rally in Butler, in the US State of Pennsylvania.

In a post on his X handle yesterday, President Museveni joined other world leaders in condemning the attempt on Trump’s life. Mr Museveni conveyed his “deep and heartfelt sympathies” to Mr Trump and also extended his “deepest condolences to the family that lost their loved ones.”

“As freedom fighters and peace-lovers, we condemn political violence because it threatens democracy wherever it manifests,” he said.

The US government shares a strong partnership with the government of Uganda, even though the two countries have had disagreements on some issues that culminated in the latter being taken off the list of beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). 

According to information from the US Embassy in Kampala, Washington invests “almost $1 billion (about Shs3.8 trillion) annually in Ugandan communities. This investment is majorly aimed at promoting economic growth and employability, improving health and education, upholding democratic values, and strengthening security, according to the US government.

About 1.4 million Ugandans living with HIV/Aids get medicines, which are mainly purchased through funding by the US government, signaling the importance of a partnership and the relevance of political machinations in the US to the health and wellbeing of Ugandans more so as donor funding declines.

Like President Museveni, many world leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, and US president Joe Biden, have condemned the assassination attempt.

Biden, in his address delivered via television on Sunday, said: “There is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalised. The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down.”