Muntu takes fundraising campaign to Mbarara

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Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag-bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu spent the better part of Monday, October 6, 2025, fundraising resources to support party activities.

Muntu, a former army commander, had been scheduled to campaign in Bushenyi on October 6, but the visit was postponed after learning that another candidate was canvassing votes there.

Alliance for National Transformation (ANT)'s presidential candidate, Maj. Gen (Rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu deliberating on his fundraising drive in Mbarara. (Photo by Stuart Yiga)

He started his walk from New Pearl Hotel via Mbarara Central Market to Grand West Arcade, distributing flyers containing fundraising contacts.

Along the way, he interacted with vendors, phone dealers and ordinary residents. Many appeared star-struck, saying they had been seeing him on TV. Others shouted ‘President’ and pledged to vote for him.

Muntu was flanked by several party cadres, including Mary Frances Kabatereine, who is vying for the Mbarara City South Division Mayoral seat and Gerald Mucureezi Humble, the aspiring Ruhaama county MP and the ANT Ankole region co-ordinator, Mweteise Bintabara.

The fundraiser, which was officially launched in Kampala a day after Muntu’s inaugural rallies at Kawempe Ku Tano Playground and Kisenyi, seeks to bridge the gap between citizens and political parties while strengthening party capacity through citizen investment.

“If you can’t manage little, you cannot manage much. Because we intend to be accountable for the resources that we get from the public. Without mentioning names, the figures that we would have raised and how they were used will be used to make accountability. At some point, we will be making accountability to the Electoral Commission but also through our websites, making it public so that people know,” he told the press on Monday.

With parties like his excluded from the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) funding due to their lack of parliamentary representation, Muntu on Monday argued that citizen contributions are the only viable way to stay afloat.

Alliance for National Transformation (ANT)'s presidential candidate, Maj. Gen (Rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu in a fundraising drive in Mbarara, Monday, October 6, 2025. (Photo by Stuart Yiga)

He warned, however, that while his party will never accept ‘dirty money’, it risks falling prey to transnational crime networks like drug and human trafficking cartels that seek to fund parties in exchange for influence within their jurisdictions.

Adding that their target is to get funding from 100,000 out of 18 million voters, they will go a long way in changing the political culture of the country, where politicians are the givers. This, in a way, has fuelled widespread corruption among those seeking public offices.

He cautioned that while some Ugandans may be reluctant to dip their hands in their pockets, they should be cognizant that politics remains central in everyone’s lives and its collapse carries dire consequences.

“We really know the challenges that people are facing, and that you give what does not make you feel pain. I mean, if you give sh10,000, that means you have sacrificed two bottles for those who take beer. That’s also a cup of cappuccino. You just forego for one day in a month,” Muntu implored.

“The moment politics goes wrong, it impacts you in different ways. Roads can break down, and if you have a vehicle, the cost of maintenance is going to get higher; shock absorbers will just deteriorate in a shorter period of time than when the roads were smooth. Breaks will wear out," he added.

Previous attempts

Since its founding in March 2019, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) has introduced alternative funding models, including a membership contribution scheme.

“Our contribution, for example, to become a party member is shillings 3,000, but you pay it once a year. But the contribution we are looking for right now is constant. Some can afford to give it fortnightly, like twice in a month or once in a month until at least we get through the presidential, parliamentary and then the Local Government campaigns,” Muntu elaborated.

Alliance for National Transformation (ANT)'s presidential candidate, Maj. Gen (Rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu in a fundraising drive in Mbarara, Monday, October 6, 2025. (Photo by Stuart Yiga)

This implies that the party shall need finances for the next four months. Adding: “Last time (2021), we got fifty (leaders), the highest being LC V chairperson Terego. Now, once we get resources, we will be able to support more who are down there. Because our intention, focus and purpose is to be a grassroots party but also with leaders who are value-driven,” he added.

Commercialisation

Speaking about values, Kabatereine noted that the country’s political culture remains deeply flawed, citing the recent National Resistance Movement (NRM) Central Executive Committee elections at Kololo as an example, which was marred by bribery allegations, although none of the accused have been prosecuted.

“We listened to one LC5 chairperson on radio, he was talking about how one candidate gave him shillings 300,000. Then, when he had gone to sleep, another candidate called him, saying that we are giving you 1.3 million, and he gathered all that amount of money,” Kabatereine raised.

“I don’t think he invested it in any business. It must have ended up in bars of lodges with women,” she argued.