Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has offered a rare glimpse into a deeply personal chapter of his life, taking his followers on social media through the journey that led him to marry Janet Museveni, Uganda’s First Lady, more than five decades ago.

In a series of posts on X titled “From Omugurusi Ampa to Maama Giinga", Museveni recounted how a seemingly ordinary encounter in Nairobi during one of the most turbulent periods of Uganda’s history changed the course of his life.

Although Museveni and Janet hailed from the same area of Ntungamo and had attended Kyamate School together in 1958, years of political upheaval had separated them.

Christmas meeting

“In particular, I thank God for the miraculous reconnection with her on Christmas Day, 1972, outside the Inter-Continental Hotel in Nairobi,” Museveni wrote on X.

Museveni revealed that at the time, he was far removed from thoughts of romance because, since the overthrow of President Milton Obote by Idi Amin in January 1971, he had been operating from neighbouring Tanzania as part of efforts to resist Amin’s regime.

His recollections paint a picture of a man immersed in armed struggle and survival.

“Since January 1971, we had been operating from Tanzania, fighting Idi Amin,” he wrote. “I had, indeed, been involved in the disastrous battle of the 17th of September, 1972, in Mbarara, where, out of 330 people that attacked on that axis, on account of not being trained, by evening I had managed to take back only 46.”

‘God’s miracle’

Museveni said he was in Nairobi preparing for another phase of the struggle against Amin when “God’s miracle came in".

He recalls parking his vehicle in a hotel car park “when I saw the Kazzoras, including Maama, entering their cars after they had had lunch at the hotel".

Museveni said he promptly got out of the car and went over to greet them. “Mr Kazzora and his wife did not know me, but Maama Janet and Maama Jennifer Kutesa knew me from the Ntungamo-Kyamate days,” he recollected.

What followed would alter the trajectory of his life. Without elaborating on the details of their courtship, Museveni acknowledged the significance of that unexpected meeting.

“It is that accidental and miraculous re-connection that enabled me to have a family even when I was still in the risky life of exile and the Resistance,” he wrote.

Museveni shared the story as part of a birthday tribute to Janet Museveni, who turned 78 on June 24. His message blended gratitude, affection and reflection on their journey together.

Overcoming personal loss

The president also reflected on the hardships his wife overcame, including the loss of her father, Mzee Edward Kataaha, in 1955.

“The family and myself thank God for having given us Maama, kept her safe in the years of orphanhood, having lost her father ... and prospering her in the subsequent years up to today.”

For Museveni, the chance encounter outside a Nairobi hotel on Christmas Day 1972 remains the moment that transformed his life once defined by political struggle into one enriched by family.

“It is that miraculous re-connection that gave me a family of four great children and fifteen grandchildren,” he writes.

Museveni ended his romantic tribute on X with a touch of humour: "I am now threatening to have great-grandchildren."

In August 2023 Museveni and his wife renewed their wedding vows in honour of their 50th wedding anniversary. Their son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and his wife served as the best man and maid of honour.