By Adonis Byemelwa
Dar es Salaam — President Samia welcomed President Museveni beneath a soft Indian Ocean breeze at State House on Friday, 7th February,2026, their embrace lingering just long enough to signal familiarity rather than protocol.
For two leaders shaped by decades of African politics, the moment carried weight not simply as a courtesy visit, but as a meeting of veterans attempting to steer East Africa through its most ambitious economic experiment in generations.
For Tanzanians watching from home, the visit stirred mixed emotions. It was the first courtesy call by an East African president since President Samia’s disputed 29th October re-election, and it came weeks after President Museveni secured another contested mandate in Uganda. Social media reflected the divide: pride in regional cooperation collided with anger over alleged repression in Kampala and concern about democratic backsliding closer to home.
“Development cannot excuse silence on human rights,” said Fatma Karume, a Tanzanian lawyer and political commentator. George Lusekelo, a Dar es Salaam-based analyst, noted that many young Tanzanians felt uneasy welcoming a leader accused of clamping down on dissent.
Still, others framed the visit pragmatically. “People want jobs, power and cheaper transport,” said Ibrahim Mhando, a logistics operator in Tanga. “Politics matters, but livelihoods matter more.”
President Samia addressed that tension directly, praising President Museveni as a doyen of African leadership and an icon of change whose six decades in public life continue to shape her own approach to governance.
She spoke warmly of his reflections on liberation struggles and economic sovereignty, saying she draws from his long view of history when navigating Tanzania’s present.
President Museveni, now among the world’s longest-serving leaders, returned the sentiment, recalling why independence movements were never meant to end at flags and anthems. Political freedom, he said, was always supposed to deliver economic self-reliance.
Those reflections quickly converged on a single, massive project. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,443-kilometre line running from Hoima in western Uganda to Tanzania’s Port of Tanga, dominated their talks.
Construction is now more than 60 per cent complete, according to project engineers, with over 1,000 kilometres of pipe already delivered and welding underway across central Tanzania. First exports are expected in mid-2026.
Valued at roughly $5 billion, EACOP is designed to transport up to 230,000 barrels of oil per day. For Uganda, it opens access to global markets for its estimated 6.5 billion barrels of reserves. For Tanzania, it anchors its ambition to become East Africa’s primary energy and logistics hub.
However, the pipeline is no abstraction. In Handeni, roadside food vendor Rehema Mshana says her daily sales tripled once construction crews arrived. In Nzega, farmer Peter Mwakyusa described losing part of his grazing land while waiting months for compensation. “It is opportunity and disruption together,” he said. “You cannot separate them.”
Along the route, more than 14,000 households have been affected by land acquisition, according to project disclosures. EACOP officials say compensation payments exceed $300 million so far, and electrification projects are underway in nearby villages, connecting schools and clinics for the first time.
However, environmental concerns persist. Conservation groups warn of risks to Lake Victoria’s watershed and fragile ecosystems. Several Western banks withdrew financing under climate pressure, leaving the project increasingly backed by Chinese lenders and regional institutions.
Project managers insist safety standards meet international benchmarks, pointing to heated pipeline technology designed to reduce leakage risk.
Energy analysts see EACOP as arriving at a delicate moment in global affairs. With oil prices hovering around $80 per barrel and Europe accelerating its energy transition, Uganda and Tanzania are betting that Asian demand will absorb their exports.
“This is a race against time,” said Nairobi-based energy economist David Ndii. “They must monetise these resources before global markets shift further.”
The economic implications are enormous. Tanzania’s GDP stands at $86 billion; Uganda’s at about $64 billion. Together, they anchor a regional economy exceeding $500 billion.
Governments estimate EACOP could generate more than $2 billion annually in export revenues for Uganda alone, while Tanzania expects hundreds of millions in transit fees and port activity.
From oil, the conversation widened to infrastructure. The two leaders reviewed plans to expand Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports, aiming to reduce congestion that currently adds days, sometimes weeks, to cargo delivery.
They discussed rail links from Tanga to Musoma and Uganda’s extension of standard gauge lines toward Lake Victoria, a move freight operators say could slash transport costs by up to 40 per cent.
For traders like Joseph Kato, who ships cement from Mwanza to Kampala, rail connectivity could be transformative. “Right now, one delay can wipe out a month’s profit,” he said. “If trains move on time, everything changes.”
They also addressed non-tariff barriers that continue to frustrate exporters despite political agreements. President Samia pledged tighter oversight of customs agencies, while President Museveni urged bureaucrats to match leaders’ commitments with real action.
Security featured prominently as well. Instability in eastern Congo continues to disrupt trade routes and unsettle investors. Both leaders reaffirmed joint efforts to stabilise the Great Lakes region, stressing that economic growth cannot take root without peace.
Back home in Uganda, opposition figures criticised the visit as legitimising an election they say was marred by intimidation and arrests.
Kampala-based activist Nicholas Opiyo warned that regional integration should not come at the cost of democratic accountability. Tanzanian civil society groups echoed that concern, urging President Samia to use her influence to advocate for political reforms.
Still, for many citizens, the calculus is immediate. In Tanga, hotel bookings are rising. In Dar es Salaam, freight companies are expanding fleets. Young engineers see opportunity in pipeline maintenance contracts. The promise of jobs and cheaper transport competes daily with worries about governance and environmental cost.
As aides compared construction timelines and ministers traded spreadsheets, the symbolism of the visit faded into practical coordination. What remained was a shared bet: that steel, rail and ports can do what decades of speeches could not, bind East Africa into a functioning economic unit.
If the first tanker leaves Tanga next year as planned, it will carry more than crude oil. It will carry expectations from farmers waiting for power lines, traders hoping for faster routes, activists demanding accountability and governments chasing growth.
For President Samia and President Museveni, both shaped by long political journeys, this meeting marked another step in a much larger story. For millions across the region, it may determine whether integration finally delivers, or becomes another promise deferred.
Already, along the pipeline route, that question feels personal. It lives in the welders working double shifts under the sun, in traders waiting for faster rail links, in farmers balancing compensation against opportunity. It echoes in port warehouses in Tanga and in truck yards outside Kampala, where operators are quietly recalculating their futures.
If the first tanker sails next year as planned, it will carry more than oil. It will carry expectations of jobs, power, cheaper transport and accountable leadership. East Africa has placed a bold bet on steel and cooperation. Now, citizens are watching closely, determined that this time, progress must move as fast as the pipeline itself.
