[Yoweri Museveni]

Museveni appointed his wife, Mrs Janet Museveni, as state minister for Karamoja; his brother, Gen. Salim Saleh, formerly a minister of state for micro finance, as Senior Presidential Advisor on defence, a job at the
same rank as a cabinet minister; his brother- in-law, Sam Kutesa, minister of foreign affairs; his son, Muhozi Keinerugaba, commander of the Special Forces, his daughter Natasha Karugire, Private Secretary to the president in charge of Household. Museveni has also appointed his nephew, Joseph Ekwau (son of his younger sister
Violet Kajubiri), Private Secretary to the
President in charge of Medical Services
(HIV//AIDS); his sister Miriam Karugaba as
Administrator at State House (she is semi-
literate) and her husband (therefore
Museveni’s brother-in-law), Jimmy Karugaba,
as Officer in Charge (OC) of the Accounts
Department at State House. Museveni has
also appointed his sister-in-law, Jolly Sabune,
Executive Director of Cotton Development
Authority, his niece-in-law, Hope Nyakairu,
Undersecretary for Administration and
Finance at State House, his cousin Bright
Rwamirama, State Minister for Animal
Husbandry, his other cousin, Faith Katana
Mirembe, Assistant Private Secretary in
charge of Education and Social Services and
Justus Karuhanga, Private Secretary to the
President in charge of Legal Affairs who is a
nephew to Mrs Museveni. Thus the president
has many of his relatives and in-laws well
placed in legitimate business.

Some of the most prominent include
Hannington Karuhanga, chairman UGACOF, a
leading coffee exporting company and
chairman of Stanbic Bank. He is a cousin to
Mrs Museveni and is also married to a sister
to the Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Aronda
Nyakairima. Although Karuhanga has made
his mark on the business scene through
personal hard work, his connections to the
first family and the likely benefits it offers
have not gone unnoticed.

Mrs Jovia Saleh: A wealthy business lady who
is into real estate and a host of other
businesses is wife of the younger brother to
President Museveni, Gen. Saleh. Her sister
Kellen Kayonga, is an accomplished business
lady in this country; she recently won the
lucrative deal of exporting security guards to
the troubled Iraq through a security company
Askar. She is the young sister to Jovia Saleh
and therefore a sister-in-law to Gen. Saleh.
Odrek Rwabwogo: The proprietor of Terp
Consults, a public relations company that has
handled some of the government’s biggest
events and programmes, the most notable
being the $1 million ‘Gifted by Nature’
campaign on CNN and the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He
marries Museveni’s daughter Patience. Of
course other relatives like Kutesa, who owns
Entebbe Handling Services (ENHAS) straddle
the space between business and politics.
Be that as it may, the president’s relatives
can still be traced in the few remaining
parastatals and public statutory bodies. For
instance, Don Nyakairu, the Corporation
Secretary of Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL), is
husband to Mrs Museveni’s cousin Hope
Nyakairu at State House.

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