Yoweri Museveni 'loves Trump for frankness' to Africa

During his State of the Nation address on January 1, Museveni, who came to power in Uganda more than three decades ago, called Trump an honest man [Edward Echwalu/Reuters]

Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni has said he loves US President Donald Trump for being "frank" with Africans, after Trump allegedly called African countries "shitholes".

Trump made the comment at an immigration meeting earlier this month, according to senators present at the White House meeting. The US president denied making the comment, saying he used "tough language".

"America has got one of the best presidents ever," Museveni said on Tuesday while addressing members of the regional East African Legislative Assembly in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

"I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems. They need to be strong. In the world, you cannot survive if you are weak and it is the fault of Africans if they are weak," Museveni said.

Museveni's comments came hours after the US ambassador to the East African country described Trump's controversial remark as "obviously quite disturbing and upsetting".

During his State of the Nation address on January 1, Museveni, who came to power in Uganda more than three decades ago, called Trump an honest man.

The African Union condemned on January 12 the US leader's comments "in the strongest terms" and demanded a retraction "as well as an apology, not only to the Africans, but to all people of African descent around the globe".

Meanwhile, in Haiti, a country Trump also disparaged in the meeting, thousands took to the streets on Monday to protest the US leader's comments.

In June 2017, Trump allegedly said during a meeting that all people from Haiti "have AIDS", that recent Nigerian immigrants would never "go back to their huts" in Africa, and that Afghanistan is a "terrorist haven", according to the New York Times.