Ugandan cartoonist Jim Spire Ssentongo has responded to US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the November presidential race by creating a caricature that mocks President Yoweri Museveni’s lengthy tenure in office.
Ssentongo, a columnist for the privately-owned weekly newspaper The Observer, published the cartoon on X, depicting a telephone conversation between Biden and Museveni.
Joe Biden: At 81, I finally felt I should just say farewell.
Yoweri Museveni: Farewell??! Is the country leaving?!
Joe Biden: I mean I’m quitting.
Yoweri Museveni: Oooh, ok… Don’t you have a son?
The caricature portrays Museveni as a leader intent on remaining in power indefinitely, even considering leaving his son in charge if he steps down. Museveni, aged 79, has been in power since 1986.
On 21 March, the Ugandan president appointed his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as the new Chief of Defence Forces, reinforcing the long-held belief that he is grooming his son for the presidency. Despite this, Museveni has not indicated any plans to vacate office ahead of the elections scheduled for 2026.
Earlier this month, a Ugandan court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to six years in prison for insulting the president and the first family through his video posted on TikTok.
Rights groups in the country have regularly denounced Ugandan authorities for violations of human rights and freedom of expression.
