Excitement in Rakai as Museveni pledges to sing the old Kooki anthem

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There was excitement among a mammoth crowd of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party in Rakai district on December 18, 2025, as President Yoweri Museveni promised to sing for them the old Kooki song (anthem).

Museveni, who was in an expansive mood, was addressing his first re-election campaign rally of the day at Kibaale playground in Rakai, where he launched his quest for votes in the Greater Masaka region.

“I told the Bakooki that Kamuswaga (Kooki cultural leader Apollo Isansa Kabumbuli II) should give me a cow, and I sing for you the old Bakooki song. Go and tell him Museveni is still demanding his cow to sing for you the old Bakooki song,” he said with a smile.

This drew huge cheers and laughter from the mammoth crowd that was clad in yellow T-shirts and waving mini flags bearing Museveni’s image.

Museveni is campaigning for a seventh elected term in office next year on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party ticket.

He then implored Rakai’s electorate to vote for the NRM in order to consolidate the gains made over the last 40 years, which include ushering in an era of peace, fostering development, wealth creation initiatives, jobs, service delivery and markets.

Kooki chiefdom, which is located in Rakai, was incorporated into the Buganda Kingdom in 1896 after signing an agreement, but retained some cultural heritage, including the Kamuswaga, their leader.

It recently championed the comeback of the Lukooki dialect, which was once on the verge of disappearing.

Kabumbuli II is spearheading this campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

Media reports say only a small percentage of Bakooki still speak Lukooki fluently, while many have adopted Luganda, Runyakitara or Kinyarwanda in their daily lives.

The reports say to address this, the chiefdom deployed over 40 community agents to engage Bakooki subjects through consultations, awareness sessions and language clubs.

They were tasked with documenting Lukooki through collections of vocabulary, oral history, chants, proverbs and stories from elders. This foundation will later support the production of learning materials, music, radio programmes and digital archives, reports say.