Kyagulanyi applauds Mbale for warm welcome, pledges to revive region’s coffee sector

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National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu applauded residents of Mbale city for the warm reception, pledging to revive the region’s local economy, including the once-booming coffee sector, if elected president.

“Mwanyalla nabi bamayi ni bababa. Nasimile nabi (Thank you very much, friends. I am grateful),” Kyagulanyi said in the local Lumasaba language after being handed the microphone while campaigning on January 2, 2025, at Marare Primary School grounds in Musoto, Mbale city.

Besides Marare, Kyagulanyi also held rallies at Nakaloke Town Council, drawing large and enthusiastic crowds who braved the sweltering heat to listen to his message.

“They tried to prevent us from passing through the city and diverted us to an isolated place. I thought you would not come, but look at what is here. Thank you very much,” he said amid loud vuvuzela sounds.

Kyagulanyi pledged to form a government that champions equality, stressing that under his administration, there would be no tribal favouritism.

“Whether you are a Mugisu, Munyankole or Muganda, all of us shall be equal before the law. There will be no favouritism,” he said.

He also promised to create jobs and implement interventions aimed at reviving the local economy. Mbale is renowned for coffee growing, particularly Arabica coffee, which dominates the mountainous areas and is praised for its unique aroma and taste.

“I know you are coffee farmers, but they have taken away your coffee,” he said, vowing to repeal the recently enacted coffee law, which he argued empowers powerful dealers at the expense of ordinary farmers.

On healthcare, Kyagulanyi said his government would prioritise the supply of medicines in public hospitals and improve the salaries of health workers, while scaling down expenditure on defence and security.

He recalled that in the 1960s, Mbale was known as the cleanest town in East Africa, a title he said has since been replaced by chaos, poor garbage collection and weak physical planning.

“Obote built schools, but they have since been degraded. You are businesspeople who trade across the border, yet some of you have been killed. When you make me president, we are going to change many things,” he said later while addressing supporters in Nakaloke.

Kyagulanyi also pledged to champion labour rights by pushing for the operationalisation of the minimum wage Bill passed by the 10th Parliament, but yet to be enacted into law.

He said foreign investors currently wield excessive power compared to local citizens.

He was accompanied by local leaders, including the NUP vice president for eastern Uganda, John Baptist Nambeshe, and party flag bearers Aisha Nnakayenze for woman MP, Haji Mansa Musa for city mayor, and Ivan Masaba for MP Northern City Division.

He urged supporters not only to vote for him as president but also for NUP leaders at all levels.

“As NUP, we only point you to leaders, but you are the bosses,” he said, explaining that voting leaders on the party’s umbrella symbol gives citizens the power to hold them accountable if they deviate from serving the people’s interests.

Kyagulanyi also noted the absence of the NUP flag bearer for Butiru County, Faustin Wanakina, saying he had been arrested in Mbarara earlier this year. He urged voters in Manafwa district to vote for Wanakina despite his incarceration.

He thanked residents for giving him the local name “Mubuya” and urged them to translate the support into votes on polling day, January 15.

He also reaffirmed his insistence that supporters display the national flag at his rallies despite warnings from state authorities.

“They have for long divided us along tribal lines, but that time is over. The flag has united us,” he said, adding that he encourages supporters to carry the national flag rather than his posters because the vision of a new Uganda transcends party lines.

Kyagulanyi campaigned in Bududa on Saturday and is scheduled to resume on Sunday in Sironko and Bulambuli districts.