President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni attended form four at the age of 19 in 1964, at a time South Africa’s freedom fighter Nelson Mandela had been thrown into jail for opposing colonial rule.
Museveni disclosed the secret on Tuesday while he paid a courtesy visit to the South African High Commission in Kampala before condoling with the acting South African envoy.
Museveni was paying his belated funeral rites to fallen South Africa’s former fast lady Winnie Mandela who at the age of 81 passed on last week.
“She was a young and beautiful lady but when her husband was jailed whereas other fighters went into exile, she remained at home and became the face of ANC,”Museveni said on Tuesday.
Mandela was in 1962 arrested for conspiring to overthrow the government and sentenced to life imprisonment before serving 27 years in detention at Robben Island.
According to the president, when Mandela was sent to Robben Islands, many other people including Steven Biko came up to fight against the Anti –Apartheid but Winnie Mandela remained the face of the party and continued with the fight despite being harassed by the regime in South Africa.
“I don’t know whether she had prepared for that role but she filled an indispensable gap in the struggle of our people .She became the rock of the struggle.”
Museveni in trying to recollect the political events said that Mandela’s incarceration came at a time he was in senior four at the age of 19.
He thus added that what most Ugandans refer to as history deems it current affairs because it occurred in his presence.
His current revelation proves that Museveni is 73 years old. According to the old law Museveni wouldn’t be eligible to contest for President in the next election since he will have clocked retirement age of 75.
But the law has since been scrapped by Members of Parliament, and term of office extended from five years to seven.
At the age of 19 in Uganda most students would be at the university or nearing completion.