Queen👸 Zulia👑🥰

President Museveni shook hands with his fiercest political rivals, Kizza Besigye and Amama Mbabazi, at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine in November 2015, in a rare moment of political civility months before Uganda’s heated 2016 presidential election. The encounters took place on November 28, during Pope Francis’s Mass commemorating 50 years since the canonisation of the Uganda Martyrs. Besigye, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, had been locked in a bitter political rivalry with Museveni for years, while former prime minister Mbabazi was challenging the President as an independent candidate. The handshake attracted widespread attention because of the hostility that had characterised Museveni and Besigye’s relationship since their political fallout. Besigye interpreted the gesture as a sign that Museveni recognised him as his successor, telling supporters the following day that the President should retire. Museveni, however, played down the significance of the encounter, saying he had no problem meeting Besigye or anyone else. The meeting occurred as the three politicians campaigned for the February 2016 presidential election, which Museveni eventually won. The Pope’s visit drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers to Namugongo, but the unexpected political encounters became one of its most memorable moments, briefly placing civility at the centre of Uganda’s otherwise tense election contest.