Q: A speaker said war is the business of man and that peace is the business of women. What did you think of that?
A: I actually agree with him. Because, when you look at what has been happening all over the world, not only in Africa, the decision to have war - or not to have war - has been by the policy makers.
Even before when we had kings and chiefs, they made the decision. There is no country in Africa, where a woman is a minister of defence. There is no country in Africa, where the top-most decision-maker is a woman. Since we are the mothers and the custodians of culture, we shall lead the crusade of ensuring that all that is necessary to ensure peace.

Q: Everyone here in Addis Ababa has been saying that one of the problems is that there are not enough women leaders in Africa. Here, you are an exception to the rule. Why is it though that there are so few women leaders in Africa? Why haven't we had a head of state that is a woman?
A: In Africa, the women leaders are not seen, but they are leading all the time. And the reason why you are seeing a few of us now trickling to the top is because of affirmative action in our countries.
Otherwise, in every country, you find women who are capable. Leadership skills do not have a sex bias. In every meeting I attend, I see many, many women leaders who are capable of being presidents of their countries.

Q: But you sit with men leaders?
A: We need to get the critical numbers of women trained in leadership skills. We need to get the critical numbers of women to realise that women are capable - because women elect many of these men. For instance in Nigeria, sixty-five percent of the voters are women.
But why is it that they have not come up with a woman president? It is because women feel incapable themselves in their own situations, because they have not been brought up to lead, or their mothers have not told them that you are capable of leading. We need to give the girl-child the knowledge that the sky is the limit, as far as leadership is concerned, as far as acquiring skills for survival.

Q: You talk about affirmative action for women - do you feel you are a token vice-president of Uganda? A: I have never been a token in my life, never, and I will never be a token even in the future. Constitutionally, in the constitution of Uganda, I deputise for the president whenever he is not in the country. And, you know, one area that people feel that a woman cannot handle is the area of commanding the forces. But when he is not in the country, I actually act as the commander in chief.

Q: Do you see yourself as a presidential candidate of Uganda?
A: Ah ha, a potential president of Uganda? I'll answer you this way. I never saw myself as a potential vice-president of Uganda, before that I never had seen myself as a potential member of parliament until the people nominated me and voted for me.