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No, Uganda’s president Museveni not airlifted to Germany in ‘critical condition’ with ‘breathing complications’

“President Museveni of Uganda Has Been Airlifted to Germany After Suffering Fatal Breathing Complications,” announces a Facebook post dated 27 June 2021.

A post from the day before reads: “Is this true or lies? Why fly him to Germany when there is Mulago and Kirundi. God save Ugandans from such selfish leaders.”

This post includes what seems to be a screenshot of a tweet by NTV Uganda.

“The President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has reportedly been airlifted to Germany in critical condition after suffering from breathing complications, purportedly due to Covid-19, according to his private doctor Dr Monica Musenero,” the tweet reads.

Has Museveni, who is 76, really been flown to Germany for medical attention? We checked. 

Museveni_False

‘Treat it with the contempt it deserves’

Elements on the screenshot indicate that it is not a real tweet. It doesn’t show the date and time it was published, or the device and platform used to send the tweet.

And on 27 June, NTV Uganda itself tweeted the screenshot, stamped “fake”.

“FAKE NEWS ALERT: Please, disregard this fake news post being shared and attributed to NTV Uganda and treat it with the contempt it deserves,” the channel wrote.

“NTV Uganda has not shared any such information on any of its platforms. Beware of those using social media to spread #FakeNews.”

 

 

Museveni is not in “critical condition”, or in Germany. On 27 June he launched the 2021 World Health Summit regional meeting at Speke Resort Munyonyo, a conference centre in Uganda’s capital of Kampala.

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