President Museveni warns of future wars with Kenya over access to Indian Ocean

KAMPALA,  Uganda 

President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has warned about wars erupting in the future if landlocked African countries continue to be denied access to the Indian Ocean. 

Speaking on Sunday, November 9, Museveni lamented that it is unfair to block landlocked countries from accessing a critical route to trade and strategic defence. 

Using a metaphor of a condominium block, the Ugandan president likened Africa’s geographic setup to a shared residence where all floors have equal rights to the compound. 

He stated that it is unreasonable for people on the ground floor to claim exclusive ownership of the compound within an apartment block. 

"How can you say that you are in a block of flats and that the compound belongs only to the flats on the ground floor? That compound belongs to the whole block. All flats are entitled to the compound. Uganda is a landlocked inside here. But where is my ocean. My ocean is the Indian Ocean. It belongs to me. I am on the top floor of the block and then you say the compound belongs to the ones to the ones on the ground floor. This is madness," Museveni said. 

Museveni went further to narrate how it is difficult for his country to build a navy unit for self-defence given they do not have access to the ocean. 

He explained how in the past his country has had difficulty in negotiating with Kenya regarding critical infrastructure that requires direct access to the Indian Ocean. 

"In Uganda, even if you want to build a navy, how can you build it? We don't have access to the sea. The political organisation in Africa is so irrational. Some of the countries have no access to the sea, not only for economic purposes but also for defence purposes. You are stuck. How do I export my products? That is why we have had endless discussions with Kenya. This one stops, another comes. The railway and the pipeline – we discuss. But that ocean belongs to me. Because it is my ocean. I am entitled to that ocean. In the future we're going to have wars," he said. 

This followed a move by the landlocked country threatening to shift business operations to Tanzania after Kenya dropped the open tender system.