📷 In Butambala, Muntu sounds alarm on cash and carry politics

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During his 2026 General Election campaign in Kibibi town council on Wednesday, October 16, 2025, Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu posed a reflective question to residents.

“Why is it that during a church fundraiser, burial, or wedding, the person entrusted with managing finances is always the most trustworthy, but when it comes to politics, this notion changes?”

A rhetorical question, he said, should be on every citizen’s mind.

Earlier on, while addressing residents of Bulo Town, Muntu had issued a foreboding warning, saying Uganda is entering uncharted territory where wealthy politicians, many of whom have embezzled public funds, are dominating politics, locking out competent but financially struggling leaders.

Citing the recent National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries and central executive committee (CEC) elections, which he said were marred by widespread bribery.

“People were being bought like goats in a marketplace,” Muntu said.

“Those involved in the youth and entrepreneurs’ elections, I hear some were taken to hotels in Kenya and kept there until voting day,” he added.

Muntu warned that the growing influence of money in politics risks creating a system where only the rich can lead.

“If the situation doesn’t change, people without money and even their children will never access leadership. During the NRM elections, we heard that people injected shillings 500 million or even one billion or even two just to win positions that are not even parliamentary but within the party,” he added.

He cautioned that unless Ugandans act, two dangerous outcomes loom: Either the poor but capable will be permanently locked out of politics, or those seeking office will first raid the national treasury to fund their ambitions.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let's change the situation. Lest we shall perish if we don’t make amends this coming year in January,” he implored.

State of hospitals

Earlier in the day, Muntu had also campaigned in Gombe town council, where he was petitioned by resident Nasser Zimula.

“I want to petition you that this hospital was constructed by Milton Obote and opened by Idi Amin, according to history…  We have been fed on lies, but today many of our people die in clinics surrounding the hospital. It is surprising. While the medics are doing their work, they prescribe drugs for one to buy in these clinics outside the hospital. What you fought for in the bush has been abandoned,” he said.

Muntu said the cure to people’s concerns on health, besides freeing resources through several austerity and anti-corruption measures, lay in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He explained that the latter would go a long way in accelerating affordable treatment to citizens. Whereas many like to think that this is a pipedream, Muntu intimated that it is achievable.

Considering the fact that even several countries in Africa have rolled it out and it is working wonders.

“Countries like Ghana have rolled it out, and it is working wonders. Tanzania and our neighbours, Rwanda, have it. Even if you are a common person and need to be airlifted abroad, this can be covered by national health insurance,” Muntu explained.

“How many of our local people can afford to pay a shillings 10 million bill? Wouldn’t that mean selling a portion of land? In Kalungu they told me that the size of a football pitch can be owned by four families,” he said.

Thursday programme

On Thursday, Muntu is expected to canvas votes in Gomba district. The next day, on Friday, he will be in Mubende.

What they say

Eddie Serugo (Bulo resident)

Our biggest challenge is that the road from Lukaya is riddled with potholes. When it rains, let’s say around Kasenyi, the road becomes waterlogged.

Salonga Haruna (Bulo resident)

The biggest challenge we face is that previous leaders neglected us in terms of development. By the time we woke up, it was too late. Take an example, the roads you have used, they would have been tarmacked by now.

Our key road comes from Kanoni-Bulo-Mitala Maria-Masaka but when the Government was working on roads, it instead tarmacked the Gomba-Kanoni-Maddu road and left this one in the middle.

Ausi Kasalu (Bulo resident)

Our area’s biggest challenge is roads. Secondly, we don’t have water. People fetch from springs which are drying up. Regarding agriculture, we are coffee farmers but the prices of late have been unstable.

Moses Kibirige (Butambala town resident)

Our biggest challenge in this area are poor roads. Transport from here to Kampala is shillings 12,000. If I am transporting goods, let’s say maize or firewood to Kampala, the least a lorry can charge me is sh150,000.

Vision Group poll

The issues raised by Butambala residents are reflected in an opinion poll conducted by Vision Group between March and May 2025 across 58 districts in 17 sub-regions.

The poll which covered 6,006 Ugandans named key concerns as health (17.4%), road network and transport issues (14.8%), poverty (10%), education (9.6%), employment (9.1%), water and sanitation (7.4%), national security (7.3%), business and economic issues (6.2%), energy (6%) among others.