Muntu hails Kyotera for voting NUP, urges Opposition unity ahead of 2026 polls

KYOTERA - Presidential candidate Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu has hailed Kyotera district residents for overwhelmingly voting for the National Unity Platform (NUP) in the last elections.

The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) flag-bearer echoed this on October 12, 2025, during a campaign stop in Kalisizo town.

“Thank you for voting NUP and ensuring it won across Buganda,” he said.
Speaking on Sunday, Muntu said he has no problem with the population voting for the Opposition parties in the real sense of the word.

Re-echoing the words of justice and constitutional affairs minister Nobert Mao, he pointed out that apparently only People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), ANT and NUP were still true to the cause, with the rest now aligned with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

“I saw Mao saying that they are with the rest. He talked about Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and Justice Forum (JEEMA),” he said.

Cognizant of this, Muntu urged the three parties to avoid attacking each other in areas where all have candidates, emphasising that voters should be free to make their own choice.

Kyotera District Woman MP Fortunate Nantongo. (All Photos Stuart Yiga)

Besides being counterproductive, these fights also demotivate their supporters. Adding that his wish is to see one of them sail through.  

Standing down for Kyagulanyi

During the question segment, Muntu was urged by some residents to throw his weight behind NUP’s frontrunner, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

He explained, however, that while both he and Kyagulanyi are standing, strategically, each is contributing toward their shared goal of unseating the incumbent regime.

“If it is the will of God, one of us can win straightaway in the first round. If that is not the case, we could deny Museveni 51 per cent and the whole Opposition automatically now would rally behind that person,” he said.

On the other hand, Muntu told the crowd that by both of them running, Kyagulanyi would consolidate his base while he did the same, potentially stretching the ruling party toward defeat. Rather than risking it all behind a single candidate.

“I was once in the army, and strategy and tactics are very important. You might have trained soldiers and guns, but that itself is not enough,” he stated.

While elections in Uganda have their own history, Muntu contends that this remains possible. Earlier, while addressing residents of Bukunda town, Muntu said that Opposition mistakes had cost them a chance to weaken their enemy, as the north and east swung to the ruling party in the 2021 elections.

Kakuuto Member of Parliament Geoffrey Lutaaya.

“The good thing is that Buganda voted for NUP in 2021, and Museveni got nothing; that is the power of the people. Did you have guns? How did that happen?” he inquired.

“The problem was our own weaknesses as Opposition. Because we had captured and were under Opposition, while Buganda and the West remained loyal to the movement, it slipped when Buganda shifted. Acholi, West Nile and took a part of Kasese, which had been resisting, were taken by the ruling party. If we had consolidated what we already held and Buganda joined, we would only have needed to bring the rest on board to defeat the government,” Muntu explained.

Elections, not guns

Looking ahead, Muntu contends that elections, rather than guns, are a window for liberation. Adding that guns have an intoxicating effect, with a hangover that lasts forever, as seen with the incumbent regime he once helped bring to power.

"I am not willing to use other channels to change Government. The only way to capture power is through the power of the people, when they understand that they hold that power,” he stated.

Muntu later held a rally at Kasasa town where he endorsed Fortunate Rose Nantongo for the Kyotera District Woman MP and Godfrey Lutaaya for Kakuuto constituency position.

All throughout, he was escorted by Dennis Muyunga, the Kasasa LC 3 Chairperson, who is also area ANT leader.

What they say 

Rogers Serwadda (Bukunda trade)

Our biggest challenge is taxes, which are constantly increasing. As a result, dealers pass on these costs to us traders. For example, you can buy a sack of sugar at shillings 180,000, and when you return to the same wholesaler next time, it is 185,000. The other challenge is that we lack hospitals nearby.

The nearest hospital is at Kyanamukaka, while the other is at Kabukere Church of Uganda. Even then, often times, they refer us elsewhere or ask us to buy medicine elsewhere.  

Edward Mugumya (bodaboda rider, Bukunda)

Whoever sails through as president should ensure that there are drugs in hospitals and our roads are well-maintained. The road to Kyotera should be tarmacked and the feeder roads periodically maintained.

George Musezi (famer, Bukunda)

This country’s biggest challenge is changing Government peacefully and fulfilling campaign promises.

Vision Poll 

The issues raised by Kyotera 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.