A screenshot of what seems to be a tweet by Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, announcing a military and intelligence service reshuffle, has been shared on Facebook.
Dated 30 May 2020, it reads: “Countrymen, women and Buzzukulu, ahead of the State of Nation addressed scheduled this coming week, I will announce a major reshuffle within the military and intelligence clusters.” In the Luganda language, “bazzukulu” or “buzzukulu” means “grandchildren” – a word Museveni uses for the youth.
The screenshot also shows a reply to the tweet by Don Wanyama, Museveni’s senior press secretary: “Be informed, the above mentioned changes by His Excellency will be announced on Monday at 10am.”
The screenshot was posted with the comment: “The kicks of a dying horse are always strong, but all in all, Kaka bye bye...your turn to leave that office has come, you thought you owned Uganda.” Museveni has been the president of Uganda since 1986.
But did he really tweet this? We checked.
The handle in the screenshot is @YoweriMuseveni. But the handle of Museveni’s verified Twitter account is @KagutaMuseveni.
And the tweet can’t be found on the president’s timeline.
On 30 May Wanyama tweeted the screenshot with “Fake news” written on it. “Please ignore all these forgeries,” he said.
When a Twitter user asked if Museveni’s account had been compromised, the press secretary responded: “Not compromised. I am sure if you follow it, you'll see it doesn't have that post. These forgers are using a tool that allows you clone accounts and do this kind of thing. The downside of technology.” – Grace Gichuhi
Dated 30 May 2020, it reads: “Countrymen, women and Buzzukulu, ahead of the State of Nation addressed scheduled this coming week, I will announce a major reshuffle within the military and intelligence clusters.” In the Luganda language, “bazzukulu” or “buzzukulu” means “grandchildren” – a word Museveni uses for the youth.
The screenshot also shows a reply to the tweet by Don Wanyama, Museveni’s senior press secretary: “Be informed, the above mentioned changes by His Excellency will be announced on Monday at 10am.”
The screenshot was posted with the comment: “The kicks of a dying horse are always strong, but all in all, Kaka bye bye...your turn to leave that office has come, you thought you owned Uganda.” Museveni has been the president of Uganda since 1986.
But did he really tweet this? We checked.
‘Downside of technology’
The handle in the screenshot is @YoweriMuseveni. But the handle of Museveni’s verified Twitter account is @KagutaMuseveni.
And the tweet can’t be found on the president’s timeline.
On 30 May Wanyama tweeted the screenshot with “Fake news” written on it. “Please ignore all these forgeries,” he said.
When a Twitter user asked if Museveni’s account had been compromised, the press secretary responded: “Not compromised. I am sure if you follow it, you'll see it doesn't have that post. These forgers are using a tool that allows you clone accounts and do this kind of thing. The downside of technology.” – Grace Gichuhi
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