Uganda wants to build a navy, but how will this be possible without an ocean?The President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is therefore threatening to wage war on other East African countries located along the shoreline, in his quest to gain unhampered access to the Indian Ocean.
Museveni claims that Uganda, which is a landlocked country, has the rights to the sea, as other states that have shorelines, such as Kenya and Tanzania.“Uganda is like a house perched on the upper floor of a storied building,” Museveni maintained.“Such house also has the right to the compound below just like other flats located on the ground floor,” he insisted.And as far as the Ugandan leader is concerned, if the coastal countries bordering the ocean continue to play hard, then war should be inevitable.
“My sea is the Indian Ocean,” he says.The President expressed frustration over what he described to be the “selfish mindset” of some coastal nations, saying that oceans and ports should serve the entire continent.
Reading between the lines however, Museveni seems to specifically target Kenya, a country which provides the direct and shortest access to the sea, with a railway line linking Lake Victoria in Kisumu to the Indian Ocean at Mombasa already in place.
Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba who has been bestowed with the Ugandan army leadership was quick to respond to his father, saying he was ready to wage war on Kenya in the bid to secure access to the Indian Ocean, through the country.So far Uganda has its envisaged oil pipeline from Hoima circumnavigating through Tanzania and connecting to the Indian Ocean via the Tanga Port.In 2008, while addressing members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha, Museveni had suggested that he may even start using river Nile to gain direct link to the Mediterranean Sea.According to Museveni, River Nile was navigable and therefore Uganda’s cargo, including imports and exports, could easily use Africa’s longest inland water body for international transactions.But now it seems Museveni no longer finds River Nile a good option and would rather fight his way into the Indian Ocean instead.
By Tanzania Times.
