KAMPALA — President Yoweri Museveni has appointed John Chrysostom Muyingo as Acting Minister of Education and Sports, State House announced Thursday, filling the role in the continued absence of First Lady Janet Museveni, the substantive minister.
According to a press release from the Presidential Press Unit, the appointment was made under Article 99(1) of the Constitution and took immediate effect.
The appointment marks the latest development in a months-long question over Mrs Museveni’s status in Cabinet. President Museveni had reappointed his wife as Minister of Education and Sports when he unveiled his 2026–2031 Cabinet on 26th May. However, unlike the other ministerial nominees, she did not appear before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for the mandatory two-day vetting exercise held on 1st and 2nd June. Jinja City East MP Paul Mwiru, a member of the committee, said she was expected to appear for vetting but did not present herself, and as a result was not vetted.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, who doubles as deputy chairperson of the Appointments Committee, said at the time that of the 82 ministerial nominees presented, 80 were approved, one was rejected, and one — understood to be Mrs Museveni — had not yet appeared before the committee.
Questions over the First Lady’s public absence had surfaced even earlier. She did not attend President Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on 12th May, marking the first time since the 1996 elections that she missed her husband’s inauguration. President Museveni was instead accompanied by his daughter, Natasha Karugire, who stood beside him as he took the oath of office before Chief Justice Flavian Zeija.
Her absence fuelled speculation about her health. At the ceremony, the Dean of the Province of the Church of Uganda, Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa, offered a public prayer for the First Lady, telling the crowd that she had healed and recovered, drawing applause from attendees. Neither State House nor the Office of the First Lady has issued an official statement addressing the cause of her continued absence from public duties.
The speculation also had legal fallout. Blogger and journalist Arnold Anthony Mukose was arrested after allegedly publishing false reports claiming the First Lady had died, with prosecutors accusing him of broadcasting fake news and circulating the claims between January and March, causing public alarm.
Mrs Museveni, who has served as Minister of Education and Sports since June 2016, has not made a notable public appearance since a social media post on 21st March referencing her attendance at a fundraising event for a school science block in Mukono District.
Thursday’s appointment of Muyingo — who has previously served as a State Minister in the education sector — gives the ministry an acting head as the vetting and constitutional questions surrounding the substantive minister’s position remain unresolved. State House has not indicated how long the acting arrangement is expected to last.
