Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is one of the African presidents known for his passion for farming, notably livestock farming.
During his free time, the president is famed for tending to his traditional long-horned Ankole cattle on his farm in Kisozi, Uganda.
Often referred to as Cattle of the Kings, Ankole cattle were initially reportedly highly valued by royal families who kept them in large numbers for prestige.
The animals, which are a cross between the Zebu cattle from India and the sub-Saharan African Sanga cattle, are known for their superior characteristics, which make them easy to manage.
They can survive in harsh conditions and with less food or drinking water. According to Museveni, who opened up about the benefits of keeping Ankole cattle in 2022, the animals have the best and safest beef as they are the only cattle with yellow fat, which is low in cholesterol.
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Ankole cow’s milk is also said to be highly nutritious and has better cream making the breed one of the highly demanded overseas on account of its health benefits.
Besides nutritious milk and beef, the Ankole cattle’s long curved horns are in high demand in the art and crafts industry, where they are designed to act as decorations.
It is for the above benefits, among others, that Museveni said the breed of cattle he keeps is in high demand abroad.
His Kisozi and Rwakitura farms host over 6,000 herds of cattle, mainly of the long-horned Ankole breed. In terms of price, the president noted that to get a bull from his farm, one has to part ways with millions of shillings.
In 2022, he narrated how he sold 43 bulls to South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at $120,000 (then Ksh15 million, now Ksh17.5 million) each.
Ramaphosa later sold one Ankole bull to South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe at the same price tag.
“Mr Motsepe of the Confederation of African Football Association, only the other day came to tell me about football affairs. However, he also told me that, recently, he bought an Ankole bull from H.E. Ramaphosa, who bought 43 cows from me some years ago, at the price of USD 120,000 for that bull,” Museveni said.
“Talking of unknowingly sitting on gold!! There you are,” he added, referring to his cattle as Gold.
