Protecting the Gains: 40 Years of President Museveni’s transformative leadership

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OPINION

By Lauben Ataho Kazairwe

Forty years of leadership is not a small journey in a nation's life. It is a story of vision, struggle, transformation, and endurance, one that has defined Uganda’s post-war destiny. As the nation reflects on President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s four decades at the helm, we must look beyond politics and personalities to see the broader narrative: the protection of our national gains.

When the National Resistance Movement took over in 1986, Uganda was a wounded country bleeding from civil wars, crippled by economic collapse, and divided along ethnic and political lines. The roads were ghostly, industries silent, and hope almost lost. Today, Uganda is a story rewritten of peace, infrastructure, stability, and gradual modernisation. Whether one agrees with the methods or not, the results are visible to every honest observer.

Peace and stability as the foundation

The most unshakable pillar of President Museveni’s legacy is peace. For four decades, Uganda has remained largely free from the kind of civil conflicts that once tore its heart apart. The guns that once spoke louder than the people now sleep under the watch of a disciplined army, the UPDF, a professional force admired across Africa. Our borders are secure, and our citizens, from Karamoja to Kisoro, can sleep in peace. This peace is not accidental; it is a product of deliberate effort, resilience, and strategic leadership.

Economic transformation and regional integration

From an economy valued in millions to one now counted in trillions, Uganda’s economic journey is undeniable. Industrial parks have risen, electricity coverage expanded, and agriculture has found new meaning through value addition and export promotion. The oil sector, though still in its early phases, promises to reshape Uganda’s economic future. Uganda is not just surviving; it is competing, attracting investors, and asserting itself as a key player in the East African Community.

Human development and education for all

Under Museveni’s leadership, education moved from privilege to right. Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) opened classroom doors to millions of children who would otherwise be left behind. Health infrastructure has also expanded, and though challenges remain, access to medical services has significantly improved. A new generation of Ugandans, more informed, connected, and self-aware, has been raised in this environment.

Infrastructure: The backbone of progress

From the Entebbe Expressway to the growing network of oil roads, from rural electrification to digital transformation, Uganda’s face has been remarkably reshaped. The rails are being revived, airports expanded, and new ones constructed, while modern stadiums rise as symbols of a nation preparing for greatness.

At the same time, Kiira Motors Corporation stands as a proud testament to Uganda’s industrial ingenuity, manufacturing homegrown vehicles that embody innovation, job creation, and technological self-reliance. Connectivity and production have become the twin engines of development, linking people, markets, and dreams.

What once seemed distant is now a living reality, a foundation upon which future leaders will build. This is what it means to protect the gains, not merely defending the past, but securing the progress we have collectively and painstakingly earned.

The Philosophy of “Protecting the Gains”

The phrase “Protecting the Gains” is more than a slogan; it is a patriotic call to action. It means preserving the peace, stability, and progress earned through sacrifice. It means guarding against recklessness, division, and regression.

Every Ugandan must understand that progress is fragile if not protected. Protecting the gains means sustaining policies that work, refining systems that need improvement, and ensuring continuity in leadership and governance.

Our nation has come a long way from the ashes of 1986, and those hard-won achievements must not be taken for granted.

The call to every Ugandan

At 40 years of the NRM leadership, we must ask ourselves a simple but profound question: Do we protect the gains, or do we risk losing them? Change, for its own sake, is not always progress. Uganda stands at a crossroads where experience meets expectation, where the old guards must mentor the young, and where the spirit of nationalism must rise above division.

President Museveni’s leadership, tested and proven, continues to anchor the nation’s stability in an uncertain global environment. To protect the gains is to safeguard peace, unity, and the values that have made Uganda a regional beacon of security and resilience.

This is not the time to tear down what has been built; it is the time to strengthen it. Uganda’s destiny is still unfolding, and the gains we have made must not be sacrificed at the altar of impatience or political short-termism.

Let us, as Ugandans, rise above rhetoric and recognise the broader picture that our collective future depends not on how loud we criticise, but on how deeply we preserve what works.

Reflection: The legacy we carry forward

History will judge President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni not only by the length of his rule but by the endurance of his vision. He took a nation broken by war and taught it how to live again with discipline, hope, and purpose.

The torch of transformation he lit must not go out. Protecting the gains means protecting Uganda, its unity, its peace, and its promise.

“The future is safe only when the present is stable,” Museveni once told the nation. As we celebrate 40 years of his transformative leadership, may every Ugandan carry that truth in heart and deed.

Because when we protect the gains, we protect the very soul of Uganda.

Ataho Kazairwe Lauben is a socio-political commentator and writer with an interest in governance and nation-building.