President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda…Photo/courtesy
KAMPALA, Uganda (IP)
President Yoweri Museveni has clarified Uganda’s governing philosophy, reminding opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi that while crowds may look impressive on camera, they are no match for basic arithmetic performed with ammunition.
“I’ve heard Kyagulanyi say that soldiers and police are few while rioters are many,” Museveni said, unveiling what sounded less like a political rebuttal and more like a primary school math lesson.
“Every soldier and police officer has a gun with 120 bullets. First, calculate the total bullets per gun.”said the veteran Politician.
The statement appeared designed to rescue Ugandans from the dangerous illusion that population size equals power.
According to the president, power comes preloaded, counted carefully, and issued in magazines — not ballots.
Kyagulanyi, known for championing “people power,” has argued that citizens, by sheer numbers, can overwhelm repression.
Museveni countered that numbers matter only when they are metallic, cylindrical, and traveling at high speed.
In Museveni’s Uganda, democracy seems to follow a different syllabus.
Citizens may gather, chant and tweet, but security forces arrive with calculators already switched on.
One officer. One gun. One hundred and twenty reasons to reconsider street politics.
The president did not say whether the bullets were meant for deterrence, decoration or democracy enforcement.
He also did not clarify whether the calculation includes warning shots, stray mathematics or extra credit for enthusiasm.
Political observers noted that Museveni’s remarks were consistent with his long-held belief that order is achieved not through persuasion but through preparedness — preferably the kind that fits in a holster.
Supporters praised his “honesty.” Critics said the speech sounded less like leadership and more like a bully reminding the playground who owns the bigger stick.
Kyagulanyi’s supporters, meanwhile, insist that history favors people over guns. Museveni appeared unimpressed by history, suggesting instead that spreadsheets, not crowds, decide political outcomes.
For now, the president’s message was unmistakable: in Uganda’s power struggle, the people may have numbers — but the state has done the math.
