Uganda’s President Museveni says he is ‘still studying’ the unfolding United States-Venezuela confrontation, using the crisis to argue that Africa’s long failure to integrate has left the continent strategically exposed, and its young people dangerously distracted.
Museveni made the remarks during a tightly choreographed, televised dialogue with selected youth on Sunday, in a Kampala event dubbed ‘Jazz with Jajja’ held at Nakasero State Lodge and hosted by one of his daughters, Natasha Museveni.
The session began at around 11:30am, with Museveni taking the podium seated just a few metres from the moderator.
Participants who asked questions appeared to have been pre-selected, largely comprising the Ugandan leader’s supporters and handpicked media outlets, posing mostly non-confrontational questions on jobs, wealth creation, the multipolar world, and hints of a post-Museveni future. The exchange lasted over two hours.
‘This US-Venezuela. I’m still studying it. I don’t know what they’re fighting for,’ Museveni said, adding: ‘Whatever the case, we shall learn more.’
‘Very risky for Americans’
Museveni spoke as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was taken into US custody following an ‘audacious American operation’ that targeted military installations and power infrastructure in Caracas.
Washington has accused Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking, claims he denies, while critics have long described his rule as authoritarian, a backdrop Museveni appeared to reference as he reflected on the risks faced by smaller and less integrated states.
He said the standoff illustrated how major powers operate across multiple strategic domains (sea, land, air and space) while weaker states remain vulnerable.
‘Americans are operating from four dimensions like the sea. Latin Americans are not there. They can come in air force. Americans are in space and now they are trying to come on land which is very risky for the Americans,’ he said.
‘In space you are at an advantage because you are seeing me and I’m not seeing you. So, the issue of strategic security in Africa is very crucial,’ Museveni explained.
‘Big fish in small pond’
Museveni repeatedly returned to his long-held argument for East African Federation and wider African integration, saying he had warned of such vulnerabilities as early as 1963.
‘This is what we were talking about in 1963. Mwalimu was going to move but Kenyatta and Obote decided to remain big fish in a small pond,’ he said, warning that: ‘When you’re a big fish in a small pond, you feel very big but when trouble comes, you will not survive.’
He said Africa lacks a strategic ‘centre of gravity’ in a world increasingly shaped by power competition.
‘East Africa is a very strong and powerful unit for the black race. Yes, you can be small like Denmark but these countries have a centre of gravity. When they are in trouble, there’s a big boy like the US to defend them, but the African race has no centre of gravity and you’re here just dancing paka-chini,’ the 81-year-old Ugandan leader stated.
Museveni also warned against global domination by major powers saying: ‘Hegemony doesn’t work. People trying to control the world. It is very dangerous. multipolarism is unstoppable. You can’t stop it and you shouldn’t even try.’
“I’m glad East African leaders have never given up on EAC federation so that we’re able to unite our land and sea space; have more resources to be able to build the four dimensions of sea, land, air and space. We can’t remain here and think we’re very clever…watching European football clubs and dancing.”
Museveni swinging girls
The dialogue formed part of efforts to court Uganda’s youth ahead of the January 15, 2026 General Election, when Museveni will face seven opposition candidates, including his closest challenger in the previous poll, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.
More than 75 percent of Uganda’s 46 million people are under the age of 30 and have known only one presidency, making young voters a decisive electoral bloc.
Museveni accused young Ugandans of focusing on what he described as ‘small things’ while neglecting economic and political fundamentals.
‘You the young people don’t talk about the African market. always talking about the small things which is very dangerous,’ he said.
Millions of young Ugandans remain underpaid and seek greener pastures in the Gulf, a situation Museveni attributed to youth being ‘disoriented’ despite opportunities at home.
‘There are many jobs here but you are disoriented. Europeans have blurred your visions and that’s why you are always running abroad,’ he said, adding that: ‘There’s potential but you don’t see it and choose to run for slavery jobs in the Arab world.’
Museveni described this as a mindset problem rooted in the education system.
‘It is a mindset problem because you don’t have the spectacles to see what’s available for you. When you get a degree. sometimes a PhD in conflict resolution. what will you do? So, the system was designed to make Africa dependent,’ Museveni explained.
However, Museveni said recent curriculum reforms under his government were shifting Uganda back toward skills-based education.
‘This mindset change can come through the school system,’ he remarked.
‘Discipline Facebook, enters Elon Musk’
On technology and social media, Museveni defended Uganda’s long-running restrictions on US technology platforms, including Facebook, arguing that foreign companies must be disciplined.
‘They thought they could insult us, play around with us and we can’t close them. I closed them and waited for the cows in Uganda not to graze,’ he said.
‘The cows are grazing, fishermen fishing and Uganda is continuing. We closed it like five years ago and even forgot about it. If they behave fairly, we shall open them up,’ he reamarked.
Museveni reiterated that Uganda was also studying proposals from US billionaire Elon Musk to introduce Starlink satellite internet services, but on condition.
‘If it is true, we shall allow Musk to bring his satellites here if they can make that digital connection cheaper than the underground cable networks,’ he said.
‘Defog their minds’
Throughout the session, Museveni, often referred to as ‘Jajja’ (grandpa), portrayed himself as a mentor seeking to clear what he described as mental confusion among young Ugandans.
‘I’m dying to defog their minds,’ he said in his opening remarks, adding: ‘There’s a lot of fog in the world. I don’t mind removing the fog in their minds anytime.’
More than an hour into the dialogue, he mixed the admonitions with personal reflection.
‘I was young like you. I would also swing girls but remember to fight, study, work and dance once in a while. The problem is that now you’re dancing all the time,’ he observed.
Museveni warned that Africa’s growing population could deepen existing vulnerabilities if not matched with organisation and integration.
‘In the next 30 years, Africa will comprise a quarter of the world’s population, yet remain disorganized. So, wake up,’ Museveni said on Sunday from Kampala, as he offered more than 10 participants Shs1 million each as a transport refund for attending the event.