In his address yesterday at Uganda’s 52 Independence anniversary celebrations at Kololo Airstrip, Museveni vowed to ask African states to review their membership to the ICC Treaty in the forthcoming Africa general summit.

He cited the case of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who appeared before the ICC yesterday that African leaders had resolved not to have any sitting African President subjected to ICC trial.

He said he was to rally African governments to review it because it isn’t a value addition product like it was envisaged

Museveni said the resolution was taken to the Security Council where there is no permanent member from Africa. The president described Kenya’s problems which culminated into the 2008 violence as ideological and not legal. By ICC treating an ideological matter legally, Museveni said, it reflected the highest level of shallowness.

Museveni said the USA, European Union and Africa needed to sit and harnomise their long-term vision based on mutual benefit and equality. The president said the greater mutual interest with western countries ought to be on Trade and Tourism.

He stated that the total global trade stood at 101 trillion US dollars per year with US and EU contributing a total of 34 trillion dollars. Other countries including China contribute 66 trillion dollars.

On Ebola and Marburg viruses the president said these being zoonotic diseases, they are easy to stop because they are not transmitted by air.

He rallied people to stop shaking hands and having contact with people who are sick. He requested communities eating monkeys and other primates to stop the practice.

Describing monkeys as the carrier of the deadly haemorrhagic viruses, the president discouraged eating them saying they are human relatives.

He discouraged health workers from carelessness that can lead them into getting affected. He saluted Uganda medical personnel for exhibiting bravery while handling the Marburg and Ebola cases.

The President also tasked people to take advantage of the deployment of UPDF in the agriculture sector under the National Agriculture Advisory Services, NAADSs. He said officers would help them develop from subsistence farming to commercial farming.

Up to 300 UPDF soldiers have been deployed in different parts of the country to supervise NAADS activities.

He said in the last two planting seasons, the army had successfully distributed 11 million seedlings of coffee, 2 million seedlings of tea and 464,135 seedlings of fruits.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete who spoke before Museveni said Uganda was on the right path and needed to stay the course. Kikwete said the previous regimes had no respect for human life and dignity and killed people.

The Tanzanian leader said there is visible social economic growth , Ugandans live a better life than they were and that the NRM government is responsible for it.

Other leaders who attended the celebrations included President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Silva Kiir of South Sudan and representatives from Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi.

During this year’s celebrations twenty 2eople were awarded Golden Jubilee medals including Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala. Others were former Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof John Ssebuwufu, Prof Francis Omaswa  Jayant Madhivani, Malibhai Madhivani, Mbonye Byombi, and Mariam Luyombo among others