NRM boss Todwong vows to rescue vendors from loan sharks, harsh law enforcers

KAMPALA - National Resistance Movement (NRM) secretary general Richard Todwong has vowed to rescue thousands of city vendors from the sharp claws of usurious loan sharks who take advantage of their financial situation.

Todwong was on Sunday, July 6, 2025, meeting leaders of vendors from Kampala city at the party headquarters when he said money lenders had become a 'real problem' to the vendors, yet there were various government programmes from which they could benefit.

According to Todwong, during his time as mobilisation minister, he had interacted with many vendors, especially from the ghetto areas of Kasokoso, Soweto, Namuwongo, Naguru, Go Down, Kinawataka, Rubaga, Makindye, Kawempe, among other suburbs.

“From the look of things, they are suffering in the sense that they are always with moneylenders. They give them little money with very high interest. You find someone borrowing shillings 20,000 and pays back at an interest rate of 20% and they will never grow because they are working to just pay moneylenders,” Todwong said.

“So, we are trying to organise them, put them into groups and associations to see how best the government can help them through the many social programs that are under the Government,” he added.

According to Todwong, the vendors can benefit from programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga and the GROW project, which is under the gender ministry.

“Many of them have not even heard about such programmes. So part of the sensitisation we are doing with them is to mobilise them, to form them into an association that can make them perform better and get out of the hooks of money lenders,” Todwong told the media shortly after the meeting.

He revealed that so far, the party had registered at least 2,000 vendors, with more expected to be registered and mobilised so as to embrace and benefit from government programmes.

Harsh law enforcers

New Vision Online has also learnt that many vendors had complained about the confiscation of their merchandise by officials from Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA).

“At times when KCCA enforcement officers come to evict them from the streets, they grab all their capital and they go away with it, which generates bitterness,” Todwong said.

“They [vendors] were saying they wish they could give them an alternative place where they can sell their products from. But the fact that they come to forcibly grab their property from the streets, remove whatever they have, they are exposing them to the money sharks,” Todwong said.

“So, when law enforcement officers come and grab their products, they have nothing to pay these loans with. And you find moneylenders coming to collect property in their houses.”

He described the meeting as emotional, mainly because of the harsh conditions the vendors deal with daily.

Todwong said most of them are single mothers who have the burden of looking after children on top of providing upkeep to other family members.

“That is why we are saying we need to help them. And the fact that the majority are single mothers, we cannot now start discussing where their husbands are or what happened to their husbands. We just need to pick on from there and see how best we can help them as single mothers,” he said.

Vagabonds attacking citizens under the guise of NRM

Todwong condemned the attacks on innocent civilians by youth claiming to be supporters of NRM on the day when President Yoweri Museveni picked nomination forms.

“We sent out information to our members that we shall not tolerate such behaviour. And indeed, as it were, the investigations for the last incident confirmed that many of those young people who came and caused mayhem to our members were other youth leaders and members from other political parties who were dressed in NRM T-shirts. Many of them were arrested and they confessed that they were sent to do that,” he said.

“But as a party, we don’t condone such behaviour. It's not what defines us. We are civil; we respect everybody and we expect to be respected in return,” the SG added.

Violence condemned

He also cautioned candidates against engaging in violent clashes with fellow contenders.

“We have sent information to them and cautioned them that they should respect each other. They should stop misusing the opportunities that have been given to them to contest and campaign among party members,” Todwong reiterated.

“They should not be violent in running for these positions. They should respect the voters. They should respect the system. They should respect the organs of the party. And they should avoid using excessive money, buying favor from the voters. Now, unfortunately, some people don't listen to this,” he noted.

However, Todwong said some of the culprits had already been notified and if they don’t cease their actions, the party constitution would be revoked for disciplinary action.