Museveni questions HIV rates in Christian areas

President Yoweri Museveni has called for a return to traditional marriage practices, arguing that cultural values could help curb the spread of HIV in Uganda.

Speaking at Karuziika Palace in Fort Portal during the enthronement ceremony of Tooro’s 14th Omukama, His Majesty Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, Museveni cited Karamoja as an example of a region where traditional practices coexist with lower HIV prevalence.

Museveni argued that traditional marriage practices, including strict cultural expectations around marriage, could offer lessons for Uganda's HIV response, citing Karamoja's comparatively lower HIV prevalence.

The President urged Ugandans to compare HIV prevalence in Karamoja with rates in Fort Portal, Mbarara and Kampala, arguing that communities that have maintained traditional ways of life appear to have fared better in controlling the epidemic.

“In Karamoja, they are still traditional. They are polygamous; they have got many women but no AIDS. Here, where we have got Christians and kingdoms and so on, we are not doing very well,” Museveni said.

Museveni said he believed traditional societies had retained cultural norms that shaped relationships and family life, contrasting them with communities where religious institutions and kingdoms had not, in his view, prevented high HIV prevalence.

He cited Karamoja as an example, claiming HIV prevalence there was about three per cent, compared with between 10 and 15 per cent in parts of southern Uganda.

“I have data; you check and compare it with Karamoja. I think Karamoja is like three per cent; these other areas are 10, 15 per cent,” he said.

The President’s remarks placed traditional marriage practices at the centre of his argument for greater emphasis on cultural values in addressing the HIV epidemic.

He also called on cultural institutions to preserve indigenous knowledge and practices, saying traditional systems offered lessons that could be applied to contemporary social challenges.

Uganda AIDS Commission 2025 HIV estimates put Fort Portal City’s prevalence at about 14 per cent, while Mbarara City was reported at 10 per cent.