Veteran journalist and political commentator Andrew Mwenda has apologised for remarks he made against individuals linked to government-supported investment projects, admitting that parts of his criticism of President Museveni's industrial policy were unfair and poorly framed.
In a column published by The Independent on Monday, May 25, 2026, Mwenda said he regretted referring to businessman David Ssenfuka and Matthias Magoola as "conmen and witch doctors" during his earlier criticism of state-backed private sector investments.
"I was unfair to them when I called them conmen and witch doctors," Mwenda wrote.
"It is utterly unjustified to insult someone that way," he added, saying he should instead have focused "on the merits and demerits" of the President's decisions.
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Mwenda also admitted that his earlier suggestion that Museveni's judgment was being affected by age was wrong.
"Where I went wrong is saying his decisions are because of his age," he wrote, describing the argument as an ad hominem attack he should not have made.
The columnist said he and President Museveni actually agree on the principle of state intervention to support infant industries, but differ on how beneficiaries of government support should be selected and monitored.
Mwenda said he had become less opposed to state-backed investment after conversations with global investors, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who argued that African economies lack sufficient risk capital from private financiers.
Mwenda recalled that Gates challenged his criticism of failed government-backed projects during an investment conference in New York following the 2008 global financial crisis.
"You have mentioned only five projects your president supported, and they failed. Your argument suffers from survivorship bias in reverse," Mwenda quoted Gates as saying.
He also quoted Gates as arguing that in Africa, governments often have to fill the gap left by weak private investment systems.
"If an American had a good business idea, there would be many sources of risk capital," Gates reportedly told him. "In Africa the state has to intervene and become the source."
Mwenda said the discussion later influenced his thinking on industrial policy and made him "less inclined to oppose state support to startups," although he maintained that clear systems and accountability are necessary.
He argued that Uganda's current approach lacks institutional structure and spreads state resources too widely across sectors.
"If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority," he wrote, pointing to state support for sugar, coffee, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles, construction, hotels, and food processing.
Mwenda proposed what he described as three key principles for effective industrial policy, including clear government priorities, transparent criteria for allocating support, and strict performance targets for beneficiaries.
He also criticised what he described as personalised access to state support.
"It should not be based on one's private and personal access to the president," he wrote, calling for institutional systems to evaluate applications and allocate funding.
Mwenda further admitted that he failed to directly engage some of the individuals he criticised before publishing his earlier article, saying this contradicted principles of fairness and natural justice.
He said he had since spoken to individuals linked to some of the projects, including Amina Moghe Hersi of Atiak Sugar Factory and her son, and had visited a factory in Ntungamo owned by businessman Nelson Tugume.
"When I return to Uganda, I will reach out to both Magoola and Ssenfuka and apologize to them and also visit their plants," he wrote.
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The column follows President Yoweri Museveni's public response to Mwenda's April 20 article titled "When old age strikes a leader," in which the President defended Uganda's industrialisation strategy and challenged the journalist to personally assess government-supported projects.
"You are supposed to be a journalist. Why do you not interview these 'conmen' such as Magoola, Ssenfuka, etc.?," Museveni wrote.
"Visit Magoola's factories in Matugga and Kamuli. Visit Tugume's factory in Ntungamo."
Museveni defended state-backed industrialisation, arguing that Uganda's export earnings and manufacturing capacity had expanded through government intervention.
"There are now 10 gold refineries in Uganda. The gold exports from Uganda have now hit $7.48 billion," Museveni said.
"As a freedom fighter, I am always stubbornly standing for patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy," he added. "Aluta Continua. Victory is certain."
