KAMPALA, UGANDA: 24 JUNE 2026– In a deeply personal letter blending romance, wartime nostalgia, and pan-African ambition, President Yoweri Museveni has celebrated the 78th birthday of First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni, expressing his ultimate wish: for them both to live to 100 so they can witness a united East Africa.
Writing under his traditional moniker “Omugurusi Ampa” to his wife, “Maama Giinga,” the President used the milestone to reveal a recent life-threatening health scare, recount their “miraculous” 1972 wartime reunion, and lay out his grandest vision for their sunset years.
Looking toward the future, the President closed his letter with a historic prayer for longevity, explicitly tying his and Maama Janet’s personal survival to the ultimate political ambition of his lifetime.
”I pray to God to get us to 100 years respectively so that we, among the other good things, see the birth of the East African Federation, which is the Insurance of Africa against any future domination or marginalization,” Museveni wrote.
Surviving a Recent Health Scare: ‘Satan Miscalculated’
The letter also served as the first public disclosure of a severe medical emergency involving the First Lady. Museveni revealed that three months ago, on March 21, 2026, “Sitaane” (Satan) launched an attack on her life.
However, the President noted that the enemy picked the wrong day. March 21 holds deep historical significance for the National Resistance Movement (NRM), marking the day in 1979 when front-line fighters defeated a fierce counter-attack by Idi Amin’s forces at Rugaando.
”Sitaane miscalculated,” Museveni wrote. “God, using good doctors, saved Maama’s life and she is now recovering well.”
The ‘Miraculous’ 1972 Nairobi Reconnection
A significant portion of the tribute was dedicated to the divine orchestration that saved their relationship from the brink of Uganda’s chaotic history. Despite both originating from Ntungamo and attending Kyamate Primary School together in 1958, the two had lost touch due to political exile.
In December 1972, following a devastating battle in Mbarara where Museveni managed to retreat with only 46 survivors out of 330 untrained men, he was in Nairobi plotting a fresh covert operation against Idi Amin. It was there, outside the Inter-Continental Hotel, that a chance encounter changed Ugandan history.
”We had just parked in the Inter-Continental car-park, when I saw the Kazzoras, including Maama, entering their cars after they had had lunch,” Museveni recalled. While the elders did not recognize the young rebel leader, Janet did.
”It is that accidental and miraculous re-connection that enabled me to have a family even when I was still in the risky life of exile and the Resistance,” he wrote, noting that the union has since blossomed into four children, 15 grandchildren, and the imminent arrival of great-grandchildren (Abaijukuriza).
The Pillar of the Resistance
Museveni praised the First Lady’s resilience, particularly between 1981 and 1986 during the Luwero Bush War, when she raised their young children alone in exile while he fought in the jungles of Uganda.
Beyond her role as a mother, the President lauded her post-war leadership, highlighting her extensive charity work with the Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), her religious ministry, and her political mobilization for the NRM in her home district of Ntungamo.