Muntu sparks debate on Museveni succession during campaign in Mubende

MUBENDE - Under the 1995 Constitution, the Vice President is mandated to take charge in the event the incumbent President dies, resigns or is legally removed from office.

Article 109 (2) goes on to stipulate that elections for the incoming president shall be held six months after the debacle.  

However, on Friday this week, Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) front-runner Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu left residents of Kasambya Town Council, Mubende district, deep in thought.

Muntu left most of his voters in Mebende district deep in thought. (All Photos by Stuart Yiga)

This was after he asked whether the current constitution ensured a smooth transition if the inevitable were to occur.

“Every time they ask him (Museveni) about succession, he says there is a constitution. But those who believe the Constitution will actually be followed are few. I have travelled to some parts of the country and asked, what if something happened to General Museveni? Could Alupo take charge? People look at me as if I’ve lost my mind; many simply don’t seem to believe it,” said Muntu.

“I want to ask you here in Kasambya, what do you think about the constitution? How many of you believe that if something happens to General Museveni, if he falls into a coma or cannot speak, the constitution allows the vice president to take over? Those who think Alupo could become president, raise your hands. Is there really no one who believes this can happen?” he posed before erupting into a big laugh.

His question was met with a heavy silence, broken only by one voice in Runyankole-Rukiga declaring, ‘General, ekyo tikiri kubasika kubaho’ (General, that cannot happen).

“Don’t you see we have a big problem? There are those who say that we have peace because we are able to walk unperturbed during the day and night. And yet many seem not to accept what the constitution?” he further wondered.

Most importantly, Muntu told residents that had President Yoweri Museveni heeded his advice not to lift the term limits, he would now be comfortably at his Rwakitura or Kisozi country home, offering statesmanlike guidance to the nation.

“I told him that he would command more respect than he does as president, which was true. I don’t think there was anything he could have advised on that the country would have ignored. He could have been the foundation of stability in this nation. But today, he has become a source of insecurity, because no one knows what is coming next,” he added.

Muntu Presidential bid

This is Gen Muntu second attempt to move into State House.

He first appeared in the presidential race in the 2021 elections, running on the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) ticket.

On September 24, 2025, he was again nominated by the Electoral Commission to run as the ANT flagbearer.

The former commander of the national army is a founding member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), which he later quit to form ANT.