First Lady Janet Museveni rallies Ntungamo independents to step down for NRM unity
Mrs Museveni stressed that the strength of the NRM lies in unity and discipline.
The First Lady and Ntungamo District National Resistance Movement (NRM) Chairperson, Mrs Janet Museveni, in a group photo with Ntungamo NRM Village and Parish Chairpersons. (PPU photos)
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The First Lady and Ntungamo District National Resistance Movement (NRM) Chairperson, Mrs Janet Museveni, has appealed to NRM-leaning independent candidates in Ntungamo District to step down and support official NRM flag bearers.
This, she added, will deter splitting the NRM bloc vote.
Mrs Museveni made the appeal on Tuesday, December 09, while addressing a mobilisation planning meeting for over 1,100 NRM Village and Parish chairpersons convened at Kyamate Secondary School in Ntungamo district.
The meeting that brought together NRM Chairpersons from the 135 Parishes and 1,034 villages in Ntungamo District, also drew sitting Members of Parliament, NRM Parliamentary flagbearers, members of the Ntungamo District NRM Executive Committee (DEC), the LC-V Chairman, Resident District Commissioner, and the District Coordinator for Grassroots Mobilisation for Ntungamo District, among others.
According to a release from her office, Mrs Museveni explained that the meeting aimed to agree on a structured mobilisation strategy to secure the 100 percent vote for President Museveni and NRM flagbearers at all levels, a target that leaders at the grassroots level across Ntungamo District had set for themselves.
Mrs Museveni stressed that the strength of the NRM lies in unity and discipline. The Movement, she added, performs best when it is represented by one recognised flagbearer at every level. She, therefore, called upon all party members to cooperate and coordinate their vote mobilisation efforts by rallying around the officially endorsed Party flagbearers.
Using the analogy of a bus that is manned by one driver at a time, Mrs Museveni emphasised that the respective winners of the NRM primary elections are the rightful Party flagbearers and should be supported by all members.
She maintained that unity and party discipline were critical to avoiding splitting the party’s votes at the grassroots and safeguarding peace and development.
“I'm sharing this as a parent as well as your leader who loves you and wishes each one of you. The Movement will perform better at both the lower local government and parliamentary levels when it has one NRM representative that the voters must choose from on that Voting Day. Let us act like how a united people ought to, and build together,” she urged.
“Building a nation is like building a family home. Without unity and cooperation, nothing can stand,” she added.
The release adds that the First Lady noted that mobilisation for the NRM is about more than elections. She highlighted the Party’s historic role in restoring security and hope through initiatives such as ‘Mayumba Kumi,’ and the continued role of the UPDF in maintaining peace.
“Mobilising for the NRM is not just about electing leaders. It is about ensuring peace in every household, so people can work, move freely, and live without fear,” she said.
She urged the village and parish chairpersons to intensify grassroots mobilisation under the national strategy launched by President Yoweri Museveni in Mayuge. The strategy involves identifying and training 63 mobilisers per village. Each mobiliser is responsible for reaching out to at least three households and encouraging them to turn to vote – an approach NRM Party strategists argue shall secure a strong national vote base.
According to the NRM Secretariat, the strategy is expected to generate a at least 13 million votes for the NRM nationwide when scaled across Uganda’s 72,000 villages.
Mrs Museveni emphasised that mobilisation should be treated as a personal responsibility that benefits each person as well as one’s family.
“Each one of us is mobilising first for ourselves and our families. However, if we think that we are mobilising for the sake of the leaders we want, then we are making a big mistake,” she noted.
“You should see your vote as a big stake of fulfilling your personal duty and responsibility in ensuring that you protect the gains of your family and community,” she added.
She described Ntungamo as a strategic district politically and historically, noting that its mobilisation results should reflect the pride and loyalty of its people.
“Our work here must bring honour to God and give motivation to the President, knowing that the people of Ntungamo truly love him and are behind his lifelong vision to see a socio-economically transformed homeland of Uganda, a common East African market, and an integrated Africa,” she said.
She reiterated the call for peace and maturity within the party and urged all leaders — including those who had contested in the primaries — to rally behind the party candidates in the spirit of unity.
“Let us avoid dividing our party. Unity will deliver victory, peace and continued stability for Ntungamo and the country,” she said.
At the meeting, Mrs Museveni formally presented the Ntungamo district flagbearers for the Parliamentary, LC-V Chairman, and Municipality Mayoral seats for the 2026 elections.
These are:
Yona Musinguzi – MP Ntungamo Municipality
Beatrice Rwakimari – MP Ruhaama
Moses Kahima – MP Ruhaama East
Hunter Byenjeru Tukahiirwa – MP Kajara
Naome Kabasharira – MP Rushenyi
Viola Namanya – District Woman MP
Sam Muchunguzi Rwakigoba – LC-V Chairperson
Jacob Kafureeka – Ntungamo Municipality Mayor.
Yona Musinguzi, the Vice Chairperson of the Ntungamo District NRM Executive Committee, described the participants at the meeting as the “real army” of the Movement, saying their work at the village level would determine the electoral outcome.
“The leaders gathered here are the real army of mobilisation for the NRM. They are the foot soldiers who will deliver our target of a 100 percent victory for President Yoweri Museveni and all NRM flag bearers in Ntungamo District,” Musinguzi said.
He commended the First Lady for her continued dedication to grassroots engagement.