KAMPALA: Uganda’s authoritarian leader, who has been in power since 1986, was confirmed on Tuesday as a candidate in January’s presidential vote and urged supporters to back his vision for the future.
Electoral officials formally declared President Yoweri Museveni a candidate at an event just outside of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after more than 2 million supporters signed on to back his bid, according to his party.
Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement controls the national assembly, which is widely seen as weak and subservient to the presidency. In 2017 lawmakers removed a constitutional age limit on the presidency, leaving room for Museveni, now 81, to run for as long as he wishes.
Museveni told supporters after he was officially nominated that his goal is “to convince the people of Uganda of what has been achieved in the past and what we are planning to do now.”
Attracting more foreign investors into the east African country is a priority, he said.
Hundreds were gathering at ceremonial grounds in Kampala to celebrate the nomination later on Tuesday.
Museveni first took power by force and remained unelected until 1996. Elections since 2001 have been marred by allegations of rigging and interference by the military, now led by Museveni’s son.
Museveni’s main political opponent, Bobi Wine, is a popular entertainer whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. He is scheduled to be nominated later this week.
In the 2021 election, Wine secured 35 percent of the vote, while Museveni, with 58 percent, posted his worst-ever result, establishing Wine as the president’s most potent challenger in decades. Wine alleged his victory was stolen through widespread ballot stuffing and other malpractices.
Electoral authorities denied the allegations.
The January vote is expected to reprise the contest between the two. Museveni dismisses his opponent as an agent of foreign interests and has questioned his patriotism.
Yet Wine has a large following among working-class people in urban areas, and his party has the most seats of any opposition party in the national assembly.
Museveni has been campaigning in recent days in Kampala as he tries to bolster his chances among people likely to support Wine, urban residents often without a reliable source of income who hope for a change of government.
Uganda has the second-youngest population in the world, with more than three quarters of its people below the age of 35, according to the UN children’s agency. It is one of at least four African nations that have agreed to receive migrants deported from the United States.
Uganda’s authoritarian president, in power since 1986, is running for reelection
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Uganda’s authoritarian president, in power since 1986, is running for reelection
- Electoral officials formally declared President Yoweri Museveni a candidate at an event just outside of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after more than 2 million supporters signed on to back his bid, according to his party
UNICEF warns of rise in sexual deepfakes of children
- The findings underscored the use of “nudification” tools, which digitally alter or remove clothing to create sexualized images
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN children’s agency on Wednesday highlighted a rapid rise in the use of artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of children, warning of real harm to young victims caused by the deepfakes.
According to a UNICEF-led investigation in 11 countries, at least 1.2 million children said their images were manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes — in some countries at a rate equivalent to “one child in a typical classroom” of 25 students.
The findings underscored the use of “nudification” tools, which digitally alter or remove clothing to create sexualized images.
“We must be clear. Sexualized images of children generated or manipulated using AI tools are child sexual abuse material,” UNICEF said in a statement.
“Deepfake abuse is abuse, and there is nothing fake about the harm it causes.”
The agency criticized AI developers for creating tools without proper safeguards.
“The risks can be compounded when generative AI tools are embedded directly into social media platforms where manipulated images spread rapidly,” UNICEF said.
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has been hit with bans and investigations in several countries for allowing users to create and share sexualized pictures of women and children using simple text prompts.
UNICEF’s study found that children are increasingly aware of deepfakes.
“In some of the study countries, up to two-thirds of children said they worry that AI could be used to create fake sexual images or videos. Levels of concern vary widely between countries, underscoring the urgent need for stronger awareness, prevention, and protection measures,” the agency said.
UNICEF urged “robust guardrails” for AI chatbots, as well as moves by digital companies to prevent the circulation of deepfakes, not just the removal of offending images after they have already been shared.
Legislation is also needed across all countries to expand definitions of child sexual abuse material to include AI-generated imagery, it said.
The countries included in the study were Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Serbia, and Tunisia.
