Kyagulanyi pledges health centre every three kilometres

BUTALEJA - National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential flag-bearer Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine has pledged to establish a government health centre every three kilometres if elected in 2026.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Butaleja district on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Kyagulanyi said the plan aims to end the chronic shortage of health facilities, which, according to him, currently forces many Ugandans to walk up to 20 kilometres to access basic medical care.

However, New Vision Online was unable to verify the practicability of such a venture considering the meagre resources the country has and the competing priorities, including debt repayment commitments, wages and salary commitments and infrastructure commitments lined up.

“Health is a right, not a privilege. No Ugandan should have to walk 10 or 20 kilometres to find a clinic,” Kyagulanyi told supporters. 

“In our government, every community within a three-kilometre radius will have a functional Health Centre III facility, equipped with medicines and qualified staff.”

He outlined immediate steps to operationalise the plan, saying the new administration would “start next year” by recruiting and properly remunerating doctors to staff the centres and ensure a consistent supply of essential medicines.

Kyagulanyi, who was accompanied by senior NUP leaders, including deputy president for eastern Uganda John Baptist Nambeshe and treasurer Benjamin Katana, criticised the current administration for what he called neglect of the health sector.

He cited the dilapidated state of public hospitals and frequent stockouts of essential drugs as evidence of government failure.

The NUP leader also broadened his message to address what he described as shrinking freedoms in Uganda, contrasting the country’s current trajectory with the optimism that accompanied the National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s rise to power in 1986.

Drawing parallels between Uganda’s struggle for independence in 1962 and today’s political situation, Kyagulanyi said, “If our forefathers were able to get rid of the colonialists and achieve independence, we too can end this rule.”

He urged Ugandans to reject tribal divisions, arguing that poverty and poor governance affect all citizens equally. 

“What defines and unites us are our problems. We are all suffering,” he said. “We want a new Uganda defined by absolute freedom—not the gun rule of a dictator.”

“Do not look at me as Bobi Wine, the entertainer, but as Kyagulanyi, who has come with a plan to turn this country around after years of misrule,” he added.

NUP on Tuesday concluded its campaign meetings in Butaleja and Kibuku districts. Kyagulanyi is expected to continue his Eastern Uganda tour with rallies in Manafwa and Namisindwa on Wednesday.