Diary of undecided voter on US foreign policy

Hello Ija, I know it has been a while. I have been rushed off my feet at work, Ija.

It is okay Ajakait, I understand. How have you been otherwise? And what is on your mind today, I ask. With excitement in her voice, Ajakait launches off …

Ija, it might be that they have talked about it and I have not heard it. It is funny how this far in the presidential campaigns for the 2026 election, the issue of United States of America (US) Foreign Policy for Africa has not come up. Has it got due public attention by the candidates and civically active citizens?

Why is US foreign policy an issue of importance for the Uganda presidential election, I ask Ajakait. And she is triggered.

Ija, can you believe that President Museveni reportedly “rejected a 450 million US dollar tech package to modernize our country’s digital infrastructure!” About 1.6 trillion Uganda shillings is what he rejected.

Wait a minute Ajakait, where are you getting such information?

Ija, I first happened on it in a video posted on Instagram on 28th September 2025 by Gaius Harriet Konyen. In that video it is said ebe, reportedly, President Museveni rejected the million dollar tech package because it came with unpalatable strings attached, including but not limited to:

US firms, like Palantir and Raytheon, take control of Uganda’s National data centers for 15 years.
Allowing them and the President Trump Administration to gain unrestricted access to Uganda’s mobile and internet data.
A demand for the removal of Hauwei and ZTE providers, who currently control over 65% of Uganda’s telecom backbone.

Yes, Ija, at first, even me I did not believe what I was hearing and reading. And so I searched online for confirmation. I found other online publications (a Black Culture Diary video, an article by Atitso Akpalu of Ghana and another by Gidado Abdulkarim of Nigeria) on “13 African countries reject Trump’s offer.”

Yes, Ija, President Museveni is not the only African President who rejected billions of dollars in ‘aid’ because of the strings attached to it by President Trump’s Administration.

In addition to Uganda, Ija, the other 12 countries reportedly are:

South Africa
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya
Tanzania
Ethiopia
Zimbabwe
Namibia
Democratic Republic of Congo
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Mali

Ajakait, I interjected, what does this have to do with presidential campaigns on-going? She goes:

Ija, let me firs share with you what President Museveni is reported as having said while rejecting the offer and then you will see the relevance to the ongoing presidential campaigns. He is reported as having publicly uttered statements that revealed the following sentiments:

Civic activism rooted in humanism is the mission of blogger Norah Owaraga. “Our sovereignty is not negotiable, not for cables, not for code. Our nation was never colonized by code and it will never be. Uganda’s future will not be downloaded from someone else’s server. African’s digital freedom is no longer optional, it is essential.”

Ija, have you heard eeeh! Ebe, “Uganda’s digital economy was worth 2.3 billion US dollars in 2024 and is projected to double in 2030,” it is reported. And so President Museveni was apparently not about to hand it over faaa to President Trump’s Administration and US tech billionaires.

Ija, the reason I am telling you this story is because in genuine democracies, the views of presidential candidates on how they will handle relations with other countries, especially the so-called ‘developed countries’ matters.

Will they protect the interests of Uganda and Ugandans or will they compromise our interests for those of a foreign power?

I see what you mean Ajakait. It would be nice to hear more from all the candidates about their foreign policy approach. In fact, Ajakait, I am wondering why President Museveni’s rejection of President Trumps aid package was not widely reported here in Uganda, even by The New Vision.

Yes, Ija. May be the Uganda print media reported it, but I did not find any links to it online as reported by Ugandans and or Ugandan publications. Ija, this is when we, the undecided voters, wish for a presidential debate.

I see your point Ajakait, thank you for calling.

I will soon call again Ija. Be safe and bye for now.

Bye Ajakait.