Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on Friday delivered a powerful public lecture at Kenyatta University even as a section of irate students attempted to disrupt his speech before police intervention.
Trouble started when a section of students were denied an opportunity to enter into the lecture hall will some breaking into Bobi Wine's slogans outside the venue.
Bobi Wine is a youthful politician from Uganda who represents Kyaddondo East constituency and has been at loggerheads with the veteran leader in the recent past.
But despite the protests, Museveni blamed institutional failure, neocolonialism and external intervention as the major reasons why African countries are struggling to spur economically.
"Before leaving Nairobi, I delivered a public lecture at Kenyatta University on the subject of African integration. I gave my audience a background to Africa and its civilization, indicating that 5,000 years ago, Africa was the most civilized continent," said Museveni.
"But despite these early leaps, Africa in the last 600 years retarded, becoming a victim of slave trade, colonialism, neo-colonialism, genocides, poverty and other ills. The question then is, how can we, who were first now be the last and how do we stop these from re-occuring?" added the Ugandan president.
The veteran leader also blamed tribalism, clanism and general hatred among the people as the reasons why the continent continues to struggle economically. He said common trade would change fortunes in the future.
"The third issue is that of prosperity. In order for prosperity to occur, we had to offer a clear ideological guide on rejection of identity ahead of interests. Of what use is your tribe when they cannot purchase what you produce? You need other people to support your prosperity," said Museveni.
At Mombasa on Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta gifted his visitor with a piece of land at Naivasha where Kampala is set to built a dry port as part of the SGR deal with Kenya.