I’ll be with you in 2036, says Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has expressed confidence that he will live long enough to see the year 2036.

Museveni made the remarks on August 30, 2026, during the closing ceremony of the movement’s 90th anniversary at St James Cathedral, Ruharo, in Mbarara City.

He said he hoped to attend the church’s centennial celebration in 2036.

“I think I will still be around in 2036, and I will be with you,” he told the congregation.

The President, who turns 82 in September, attributed his longevity to God’s favour. 

He recalled visiting the Ruharo cathedral grounds 77 years ago during celebrations marking 50 years of the Anglican Church in Ankole.

“I first came here in the compound of this cathedral 77 years ago,” Mr Museveni said. “You can imagine, I was here 77 years ago and I am still around. Praise be to God.”

While the Anglican Church first arrived in Ankole in 1899, his great-grandfather and grandfathers declined to join it. It was only decades later in 1947 that  parents embraced Christianity at Kinoni, after his birth.

Mr Museveni said his sister, Violet Kajubiri (Ka-Jubilee) was named after the Anglican Church’s jubilee celebrations of 1949, the year she was born.

He also recalled getting lost during the gathering after following a woman whose dress resembled his mother’s.

The latest remarks repeat the President’s earlier prediction that he could live to 100.

During a Parish Development Model tour of Greater Mubende in April 2025, Mr Museveni said his daughters had told him that he was likely to reach the milestone.

“I am 80 years old, and my daughters recently told me I am likely to reach 100 years,” he said at the time. “That means I still have about 20 years on earth. Then I will leave and go to heaven.”

Mr Museveni has often linked his health to avoiding alcohol and cigarettes, eating traditional foods and remaining physically active.

The five-day revival convention attracted more than 7,000 delegates from across East Africa. The five Anglican dioceses under the Ankole Ecclesiastical Province organised it under the theme: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

The President thanked the bishops for commemorating the revival, which has influenced religious and social life across East Africa for nine decades.

He also welcomed a proposal by Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa to establish an East African Revival Museum as a tourism attraction.

“I will take it up for sure because it is a contribution to human civilisation,” Mr Museveni said.