Why President Museveni defeated Kyagulanyi

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OPINION

By Amlan Tumusiime

Congratulations, Mr President, on the massive win in the 2026-2031 presidential election. Your much-desired victory of 71.65% of the total votes cast is a clear testimony that Ugandans, including the youth, who could have contributed more than 50% to your resounding win, still trust and believe in your able leadership.

The youth, who make up the biggest percentage of the population in Uganda, rejected lies and propaganda by their fellow youth opposition politician, Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform, who came second with 24%. Instead, they voted for you, Mr President.

The dynamism and full involvement of the young people, including First Daughters Natasha Karugire and Patience Rwabogo, in mobilising support for you, Mr President, in the just concluded presidential election cannot be taken for granted. They demonstrated true love.

Mr President, throughout the campaign period, I concentrated on writing articles in the New Vision every week, reminding Ugandans of the numerous achievements registered under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government and why it was very important for Ugandans to vote for you. In one of my articles, I said the 2026-2031 presidential election would be the easiest for you to win, and I predicted that the 1996 political history was going to repeat itself when you defeated the late Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere with over 70% of the vote cast. I am glad this has come to pass.

Mr President, the difference between Ssemwogerere and Kyagulanyi is that the latter wanted to serve the interests of Ugandans. Kyagulanyi’s interest, on the other hand, is to please and serve the interests of the West. They fund him to cause chaos in the country because some elements in the West feel unhappy seeing Uganda enjoying stability for the last 40 years.

Your Excellency, the youth are right to support you because many of them could have died at the infant stage if you had not come out with an idea of mass immunisation to eliminate the six known infant killer diseases such as polio, tetanus and measles.

You have given over 20 million youths free education, both in primary and secondary, courtesy of the universal primary and secondary education programmes.

Due to the improved healthcare and citizens’ generally good standards of living, life expectancy for Ugandans has risen from approximately 45 years in 1986 when you came into power to about 66 years currently. Your wise leadership has provided safe and clean water to people and extended health facilities up to parish levels throughout the country, where people can easily get medical services. No doubt on January 15, Ugandans voted for continued peace and stability, wealth creation and a generally enjoyable nation.

Mr President, Uganda is happy. You have not only won Kyagulanyi, but you have also won his funders. Your resounding victory sends a clear signal to the West that you are still a loved President. The power lies with the people and Ugandans have spoken with one major voice. The decision of people must be respected.

All citizens must now put politics aside and focus on development. Those planning riots must think twice because the majority of Ugandans have decided, and life must continue.

I thank Ugandans and all those, notably the First Lady, Mama Janet Museveni, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, and Haji Moses Kigongo, for the excellent job and the victory secured.

Finally, I want to thank the state minister for lands, Dr Sam Mayanja, for taking me around to some districts in Buganda to campaign for President Museveni a week before the elections.

Mr President, I will specifically inform you of one village called Jenda in Zirobwe sub-county, Luwero district. During a meeting in this village, a 95-year-old man, together with his 86-year old sister, was brought before Minister Mayanja asking for help to recover their 22-acre titled piece of land grabbed by a man with more than six names and a resident in the area. This 95-year-old man, dressed in a white kanzu, was brought in a wheelchair and made many people cry, including Minister Mayanja himself. The old man narrated that he innocently entrusted his land title to this man. Instead, this man went and transferred the entire 22 acres to his wife’s name.

The old man told the minister that when his daughter planted maize on part of the land, the land grabber cut it down and fed it to his cows.

According to the residents, this man is untouchable because he is armed and guarded by armed men in civilian clothes. One man reported that he had over 30 reference cases reported to the Police against this man, but he has never been arrested. More than 10 people stood up, with evidence of police cases against this man. However, nothing happened to him. He instead uses the Police to arrest innocent people as a way of intimidating them to grab their land. Among the people who complained is an elder, who is a former Kayunga district LC5 chairperson.

Mayanja ordered the area officer in charge to arrest this land grabber, and he resisted arrest. The Police fi red bullets, but the land grabber has not been arrested, a week after the minister’s orders. The community, who were in the hundreds, told Mayanja that such issues continue to affect NRM support in Luwero as a reason why they vote for the Opposition.

I saw Mayanja pull out his handkerchief to wipe his tears as residents, in an emotional way, tried to explain the ordeals they had suffered under this land grabber without any help from any government authority. Mayanja calmed them down, requesting them to vote for Sabalwanyi. Mr President, I know you care about your people’s well-being. I request that you personally intervene and help these helpless elders of Zirobwe.

Congratulations once again for the well-deserved victory, Mr

President The writer is the Bunyoro NRM mobiliser