When Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s motorcade puled by the road in Kyeirumba Village on Monday and sat on a fold chair to make a 30-minute call, it drove Facebook and Twitter in the East African coffee-producing nation into a frenzy.
Dubbed the #M7Challenge, the footage went viral as people satirically tried to re-create the scene with varied messages.
Twitter users in Uganda and other parts of the world were left guessing what the road-side call was about.
Some saw it as an urgent matter of national importance while others satirically guessed it was a cheap publicity stunt, adding it was Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe on the other end of the call.
Mugabe and Museveni are two of the continent’s longest serving presidents who have ruthlessly clamped down on opposition, drawing foes and friends in equal measure.
According to CNN, 2.1 million people had reacted to the images on Facebook by Thursday, making it the most popular post in Africa so far in July.
Residents of the sleepy Kyeirumba village got curious and gathered around to witness the spectacle. Museveni acknowledged them back with his trademark thumb sign.
It was a rare moment from the strongman who has patronized Ugandan politics for three decades and his known for his government’s vicious man-handling of his biggest rival, Kizza Besigye.
According to Daily Nation, Museveni directed his security not to block other motorists. Contrary to the norm with every president’s trip across Sub-Saharan Africa, roads are blocked and traffic comes to a standstill whenever a president goes on a road trip.
He was on his way from Isingiro District where he had led the nation in marking the World Population Day.
Museveni used ‘kabiriti’, a cheap phone that is commonly used by Ugandans who can barely afford the high-end smartphones associated with the rich.
The excited crowd urged the leader to direct power distributors to supply electricity at cheaper rates.
He promised to engage stakeholders and enable more people to access electricity in Kyeirumba and other rural areas of Uganda.
The long-serving strongman is not short of theatrics! He has been in power for 30 years and took 30 minutes by the road, to make the seemingly important call!
Last week, he referred to Israel as Palestine while addressing a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in Kampala.
The footage comes in handy to boost his popularity, after presidential polls early this year, where his administration drew public ire for the politically instigated intimidation of Besigye and other opponents.
