Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his wife, Mama Janet Museveni, marked 50 years of marriage during a highly publicized and lavish vow renewal ceremony held on August 24, 2023.
President Museveni spotted his famous safari hat which he paired with black slacks and a tailored shirt that borrowed heavily from military-style shirts while his wife donned a beautiful, all-white long-sleeved A-line dress.
At their arrival, they were welcomed by hundreds of congregants invited to the ceremony and as they walked up the aisle, their children and grandchildren led the way up to the altar.
The couple jointly read their renewed vows in front of family, friends, and the church and were cheered on with ululations from the crowd.
They then separately read out their vows to each other and exchanged new wedding rings before the preacher blessed their renewed union and called on the couple to express their affection for each other.
Where couples would have kissed at this point to seal the deal, President Museveni, however, opted to give his wife a quick hug as his best man, son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, watched on.
According to prior Nairobi News reports, President Museveni explained why he never kisses his wife in public.
“If I kissed my wife in public, I would lose all the elections in Uganda because Africans don’t show what is private in public. If you want to kiss, you know the address of kissing where it is,” said President Museveni in November 2022.
Following the marriage vows renewal ceremony, President Museveni issued a lengthy statement celebrating his wife and thanking God that they clocked 50 years together.
“Maama Janet and I celebrated 50 years of marriage yesterday in Ntungamo. I told the congregation that, having gone through very turbulent times, I concluded that if you do God’s work, God will do yours. The way we were living on account of opposing the neo-colonial regimes planted here by the imperialists, one would imagine we would not be able to have families, but in spite of the instability, we were able to have families.
I also told them to always differentiate between life and facilitation of life. Whereas otherworldly things such as wealth, education, and professionalism are important, the real meaning of life is in the family and the marriage institution because it guarantees the continuity of humanity.
Maama helped me to create a family, and I am very grateful for her contribution. I salute her for bringing up the children without my presence; her contribution to the upbringing has no comparison. She did it when I wasn’t there and didn’t even know I would ever return to their lives. I therefore thank God for my family, Maama Janet, the children and the grandchildren,” said President Museveni.
