Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday was sworn in for the seventh time to extend his ruling for another five years. He has been in power for the past forty years.

The ceremony, attended by foreign dignitaries in the capital, Kampala comes months after he was declared the winner of January’s presidential election, allowing him to rule until at least 2031.

The president’s son and presumptive heir, army chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, oversaw dayslong rehearsals of the military parade that will animate the eighth inauguration of Museveni, with Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets flying noisily over official ceremonial grounds in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

Museveni took the oath of office and received the ceremonial instruments of power while being cheered by thousands attending the event in the Kampala suburb of Kololo.

Many Ugandans now accept that Museveni’s presidency, the only one that millions of people have known, is nearing its end. What remains uncertain is the nature of the transition and how orderly things would be in the time he has left in office.

His son Kainerugaba looks poised to take over and has declared his wish to succeed his father. He said recently that the mission is unstoppable.

Esther Ndu