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President Yoweri Museveni offered a deeply personal reflection on his wife's life, shedding light on her challenging upbringing as an orphan and her formidable strength as a single mother during tumultuous times.
Speaking last weekend at a celebration for First Lady Janet Museveni’s 77th birthday, the President provided a glimpse into the private struggles and remarkable resilience that have shaped his wife.
President Museveni began by expressing gratitude for his wife's life, describing it as "amazing."
He recounted a recent visit to Ntungamo, their birthplace, which prompted a poignant memory: the 70th anniversary of the death of Janet Museveni’s father, Mzee Edward Kataaha, who passed away in April 1955.
A Childhood Marked by Early Loss
"Somehow, I was part of the funeral although I was only 10 years old, and I performed some activities there which I don’t want to talk about," the President shared.
At the time of her father's passing, Janet Museveni was merely seven years old. The trauma continued for the young Janet with the death of her only brother, Kainerugaba, in a car accident in 1966, when he was in his twenties. Her mother also passed away soon after.
"So, you can see all those traumas to a young person; they are really too much, but God saw her through all that," President Museveni remarked
President Museveni with his wife Janet
He praised divine intervention for not only granting her a long life but also blessing her with numerous favours along the way.
The Revolutionary's Wife and a Magnificent Single Parent
The President then spoke of their union, expressing gratitude for their marriage. He said that their paths converged during the time of the struggle, leading to their marriage and the birth of their first three children during a period of considerable instability: Muhoozi in 1974, Natasha in 1976, and Patience in 1978. Diana was born in Kampala in 1980.
However, the demands of the liberation struggle soon forced another separation. She had to go out in exile with the children to Nairobi and Sweden
"I must thank her for being especially between 1981 - 86, she was able to be a single parent to the children in Nairobi and Sweden when I was completely absent."
He contrasted this with the earlier period (1971-79) where, despite his intermittent presence, he was "at least around and I was providing for the family."
The 1981-86 period, however, saw him "totally absent," leaving Janet alone with the children. "So, I salute her as a magnificent single parent," he concluded, a testament to her unwavering strength and dedication.
Ingenuity and Perseverance: Lessons for All Mothers
President Museveni's admiration for his wife's single motherhood echoes sentiments Janet Museveni herself shared in September last year at the Mothers Union Conference.
President Museveni with his wife Janet
She shared a deeply personal account of her struggles as a young mother in the early 1970s, fending for her children in her husband's absence while a refugee in Tanzania.
She recalled facing hardships, particularly when pregnant with Muhoozi. Despite lacking a stable income, she demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and perseverance.
"When I was expecting Muhoozi as a young mother, I started making orange marmalade on my kitchen table," she recounted, adding, "I am happy I am telling you this when my husband is here because if I was lying, he could dispute it. He knows this is true."
She found a kind supermarket manager who agreed to buy her homemade jam and pay her at her kitchen door.
"I did not have a car to take my jam to the supermarket. This man was very kind as he agreed to come and pick it up from my home and pay me right there. That is the money I paid for my hospital bill when I went to have my baby. If I had not done the work, I do not know where I would have had the baby, because the closest hospital was one where we had to pay cash, which I did not have.”
In her remarks, the First Lady rallied women to cease making excuses about their children's wellbeing, emphasising that "Children do not need to eat so much. They just need a little food which is full of value.”