False tweet circulates that Ugandan president, Museveni is dead

Share

A Twitter user @joseypro tweeted a claim that the Ugandan president is dead.

The claim reads:

Breaking news!!! The president of Uganda is dead !!!

As of Sunday, May 21, 2023, the claim had garnered over a million views, more than 900 retweets and over 10,000 likes.

READ : Photo does NOT show Ugandan Police spokesman shooting catapult at journalist

Yoweri Museveni is the current President of Uganda.

CLAIM

The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, is dead.

Screenshot of the viral tweet announcing the death of the Ugandan president.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is FALSE.

Using the keywords ‘President of Uganda’, a Google search result shows that the President is still alive as he was present at  the funeral service of the Ugandan labour minister, Charles Okello Engola, same day the claim was posted online.

Yoweri Museveni is the current President of Uganda and has been in power since January 1986.

READ ALSO : Is China taking over Uganda’s airport?

No credible local or international media platform also reported the news of the death of the Ugandan president, as of Sunday, May 21, 2023.

Further checks show that this is not the first time the claim would circulate online. Credible fact-checking organisation like Pesa Check had in 2022 debunked a similar claim.

 

THE VERDICT

The claim that the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, is dead is FALSE; findings show that Museveni is still in power.

Fact-checker at The FactheckHub | [email protected] |  + posts

Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here


Most Read

Recent Checks