Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, announced on Thursday that he was on “forced leave” after discovering he had the COVID -19 virus.
“Yesterday morning, I noticed some mild flu-like symptoms,” the 78-year-old President Museveni said in a statement. Tests confirmed he had contracted the coronavirus, he added.
“I have therefore, self-isolated… (and) delegated my work for today and tomorrow to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja,” he said.
Museveni said he had only mild symptoms. “However, I always prefer to err on the side of caution and self-isolate for now,” he added.
Museveni, one of the world’s rulers with the longest tenure, has dominated the nation of East Africa with an iron fist for decades.
He was once praised as a reformer before seizing power in 1986 and aiding in the end of years of oppression under Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
However, the former rebel leader has since cracked down on dissent and amended the constitution to enable him to run for office repeatedly.
Journalists have been attacked, attorneys have been imprisoned, election monitors have been charged, and opposition leaders have been forcibly silenced in Uganda as a result of a series of crackdowns on people who oppose Museveni’s government.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, Uganda has reported 170,255 coronavirus cases and 3,632 fatalities, according to the health ministry.