The First Lady becomes Uganda's African queen

Hillary Rodham Clinton has escaped the political feeding frenzy of Washington politics and the sniping and backbiting of the US media to inspire ecstatic singing and dancing in the streets of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.

In scenes more frequently associated with tours by the Princess of Wales, the First Lady comforted patients with Aids, was serenaded by young children and cheered by crowds lined six deep at the roadside.

After lambasting her US detractors for trying to force her into a "no- person's land" Mrs Clinton has embarked on a tour of African countries to focus on the perennial problems of illiteracy, poverty and struggling nationhood. She was given a cordial welcome in Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. But in Uganda: delirium.

"You are wel-come! You are wel-come! Welcome to Se-gu-ku!" sang the hundreds of pupils of the Seguku Primary School, clad either in vivid traditional clothing or rose-coloured uniforms, dancing as they sang.

Mrs Clinton, who was accompanied by her daughter Chelsea, 17, observed earnestly: "There is nothing more important than investing in the education of boys and girls. The economic and democratic transitions that are taking place now in Africa will succeed only if African children are educated."

It was the first ever visit to Uganda by a sitting US first lady, and the first visit to the country in many years by any high-ranking US official. The government, in a country with an average per capita income of roughly pounds 150, was anxious to make a lasting impression.

The education minister, Amanya Mushega, told Mrs Clinton: "When you go back, be a friend to Uganda. Be our friend in the White House and Congress. Remember the African child."

Among the key issues which Mrs Clinton was seeking to raise with the African governments was the need for more rights for women in business and public office.

But Janet Museveni, wife of the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, said that Western "developments" - such as sex before marriage - were not always best for a country like Uganda. She was referring to the Aids epidemic which has claimed 500,000 Ugandan lives, with 1.5 million of the 14 million population carrying the HIV virus. Ian Burrell