FACT CHECK: Did Joe Biden Say, ‘Mark My Words: Peace And Democracy Will Be Made In Uganda’?

An image shared on Facebook claims President Joe Biden said, “Mark my words: Peace and democracy will be made in Uganda.”

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that Biden said this quote.

Fact Check:

The Facebook image includes two photos: one on the left of Biden, and one on the right of Bobi Wine, a Ugandan presidential candidate who lost in the January election, CNN reported. Wine has previously stated he had evidence of election fraud, according to the outlet. The caption of the Facebook image attributes to Biden the quote, “Mark my words: Peace and Democracy will be made in Uganda.”

There is no evidence Biden said the quote attributed to him. A search of his verified Twitter accounts — @POTUS and @JoeBiden — turned up no such comments. Nor did a search of ProPublica’s archive of his deleted tweets. (RELATED: Did Barack Obama And Joe Biden Tweet, ‘#FreeBobiWine’?)

Check Your Fact also searched the White House and the U.S. Embassy in Uganda websites, but found no mention of Biden pledging to bring “peace and democracy” to Uganda. A search for news reports attributing the statement to Biden turned up no results either.

While there is no record of Biden making public statements about democracy in Uganda, Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, told reporters during a February 23 press briefing that the Ugandan January 14 presidential election was “marred by election irregularities.”

“Uganda’s January 14 elections were marred by election irregularities and abuses by the government’s security services against opposition candidates and members of the civil society,” Price said during the briefing. “We strongly urge independent, credible, impartial and thorough investigations into these incidents. We will consider a range of targeted options to hold accountable those members of the security forces responsible for these actions.”

The State Department announced April 16 visa restrictions on Ugandans who are “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda, including during the country’s January 14 general elections and the campaign period that preceded it.”

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