Kamuli: President Museveni urges Busoga to back NRM, highlights party contributions to Uganda

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President Yoweri Museveni has appealed to Ugandans, particularly Busoga communities, to renew the National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s mandate in the 2026 general elections.

The endorsement, he said, should be based on what he termed as the party’s “seven factual contributions to Uganda."

While addressing a mammoth campaign rally at Bupadhengo Primary School grounds in Kamuli District on Thursday, he emphasised: peace, development, wealth, and availability of jobs as four of the seven achievements that the NRM has delivered to Ugandans since 1986.

 

President Museveni accompanied by First Lady Janet Museveni addressing a campaign rally in Kamuli district on Thursday.

At the rally, which formed part of his intensive week-long campaign tour across the Busoga sub-region, ahead of the January 2026 general elections, the President, who was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet  Museveni and NRM bigwigs, urged the gathering and all Ugandans to vote based on evidence of performance, not political rhetoric.

“I ask you to support NRM because of what it has done on the ground. When somebody asks you why you’re supporting our party, tell them the NRM has already made some contributions to Uganda’s house. In the manifesto, we mention seven contributions,” President Museveni said.

A release from the Presidential Press Unit states that he took a swipe at political opponents whom he accused of lacking any tangible contribution to the country’s progress.

“You who are against NRM, what contribution have you made to Uganda? What have you done? Where is the evidence? They don’t have a single contribution they have made to Uganda,” he said, urging Busoga residents to shun the  “negative voices.”

The NRM candidate also expressed satisfaction that more Ugandans are now demanding the establishment of industrial parks, which he said are critical for job creation and economic transformation.

“Therefore, I'm glad that you’re making land available for industrial parks, like the one in Namasagali,” he stated, attracting a big applause.

 

NRM supporters in Kamuli express their party support as they arrive for a campaign rally on Thursday.

The President reported that Uganda’s factories currently employ about 1.3 million people, tripling the number of government jobs, which stand at 480,000. 

He pointed out the Sino-Mbale Industrial Park, which he said hosts more than 75 factories, as an example of successful NRM-driven industrialisation.

The park, he explained, demonstrates how manufacturing, commercial agriculture, and services are creating employment for young Ugandans.

He also highlighted the story of a successful Kamuli-based Basangwa Johnson, who has a successful poultry farm.

“In 2005, Basangwa was among those fighting for the job of LC5 chairman. Now his farm is offering jobs to 300 Ugandans through small-scale intensive agriculture,” President Museveni said.

He added that targeted household-based enterprises can yield higher returns than political contests.

President Museveni reminded his huge audience that Uganda’s first major achievement under NRM rule is the restoration of peace and security.

“There were troubles in 1966, when Kabaka Muteesa was exiled. People like Kyabazinga Nadiope were put in jail. Then Idi Amin came and started killing people such as Hajji Balunywa, Shaban Nkuutu, Mbigiti, Kasadha, Ntare, and many others,” President Museveni recounted.

He added that when Milton Obote returned after Amin’s fall, the country again suffered violent conflicts in areas such as Luuka and Muterere.

“But the NRM has stopped all that, and there’s peace in the whole country now. That's contribution number one-peace, and it is factual. It’s not just a story, but it’s what happened,” he emphasised.

President Museveni recounted his personal involvement in Uganda’s political struggles dating back to the 1960s, noting that his early activism with figures like Grace Ibingira shaped his resolve to fight sectarianism and build a unified nation.

 

Some of the NRM supporters express their support for President Museveni during a campaign rally in Kamuli on Thursday.

President Museveni also cited infrastructure development; economic and social, as the NRM’s second major contribution. These include roads, electricity, telecommunication, railways, schools, and hospitals.

He announced several planned road projects with secured funding.

“The big development which is coming in this region is working on the Jinja-Budondo-Mbulamuti up to Kamuli – Bukungu, and then 10 km of Jinja city roads", he revealed.

The other project, he said, is the construction of the  Iganga-Buloopa-Kamuli road.

“These are the new roads coming up in this area, also including the third road, which is Kamuli-Kaliro-Namwiwa to Pallisa," he revealed.

He further remarked that, “I’m happy that Jinja–Kamuli is in good condition,” and added that improved roads will boost trade, agriculture, and industry in Busoga.

President Museveni also explained NRM’s third contribution—wealth creation at the household level. He argued that many people confuse “development” (such as roads and schools) with “wealth,” which belongs to individual households.

“We started emphasising this in the 1960s and expanded it in the cattle corridor,” he said.

He explained the 4-acre model, first presented in the 1996 manifesto, which advises small landholders to diversify income through coffee, fruits, pasture for zero-grazing dairy cows, food crops, and in the backyard poultry for eggs, piggery, and fish farming for those near wetlands.

 

“Those with big land can grow maize, sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton,” he said, warning that small landholders should avoid copying large-scale farmers.

As proof, President Museveni again referenced poultry farmer Basangwa Johnson, who he said rose from a 50x100 ft plot of land with 500 chickens to now collecting 2,000 trays of eggs and earning about sh 20 million per day.

“I’m appealing to all NRM people to be careful about the medicine for wealth creation,” he emphasised.

Maama Janet thanked Busoga residents for their high turnout and urged them to mobilise widely for the NRM.

“Make it your responsibility to mobilise your neighbours and friends. Vote for NRM, and Uganda will build strong pillars of government. Education will become better by the year,” Maama Janet added, attracting loud cheers, especially from the youth and women’s groups present.

Several senior party leaders also addressed the rally, among them was NRM First National Vice Chairman Alhajji Moses Kigongo,
First Deputy Prime Minister and Kamuli Woman MP, Rebecca Kadaga, and Kamuli District NRM Chairperson Matthew Bazanya.

Kigongo emphasised discipline as the foundation of political victory.
“Harvesting huge volumes of votes comes from being disciplined. We are the only ones who have brought peace to Uganda,” he said.

Kadaga and other leaders rallied Busoga to turn out in large numbers and “deliver a decisive win for NRM.”

In the company of the First Lady, President Museveni also 
Commissioned the US$50 million cassava starch processing plant in Namasagali, spearheaded by Dr Matthias Magoola of Dei BioPharma Ltd.

The PPU release revealed that the plant will produce starch, glucose, maltose, and fructose, key ingredients in pharmaceutical manufacturing that Uganda has long imported.

The facility is expected to, among other contributions, create over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, provide a stable market for cassava farmers, reduce Uganda’s import bill for pharmaceutical inputs, and accelerate pharmaceutical self-reliance.

President Museveni commended Dr Magoola’s initiative and promised government support for the broader industrial park. However, he cautioned small landholders against rushing into cassava cultivation for industry without understanding profitability.

“We must be clear about the earnings per acre per year,” he said. “If it’s not much, we shouldn’t repeat the mistake of sugarcane, where people with small land copied those with huge chunks of land.”

With two more rallies scheduled in Jinja and Iganga on Friday, President Museveni is expected to conclude his Busoga campaign tour with strong appeals centred on the seven contributions of NRM to Uganda.