Museveni to Kalungu residents: You became ‘orphans’ after voting for Opposition

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President Yoweri Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential flagbearer, has told voters in Kalungu district that they became political 'orphans’ after voting for the Opposition candidates about 10 years ago.

He said this on Saturday (December 20) at his first campaign rally of the day at Bulakati Playground in Lukaya town council, Kalungu.

Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, speaking to NRM supporters at the rally. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

“Like the Speaker of Parliament (Anita Among) has said, you have been ‘orphans’ for 10 years or so. You voted out [Vincent] Ssempijja in the last election, but before you had started bringing people who are not clear," he told a large crowd.

Ssempijja, who was in 2021 serving as agriculture minister, lost his Kalungu East parliamentary seat to the National Unity Platform (NUP) party’s Francis Katabaazi.

Kalungu East NRM parliamentary flag bearer Vincent Ssempijja, waving the NRM flag. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

Joseph Ssewungu, who was formerly a Democratic Party MP for Kalungu West, was re-elected in the last general election on a NUP ticket.

Museveni, who is eyeing a seventh elected term in Uganda's top-most office, told Kalungu residents that some MPs they elect don't know their method of work as guerrillas.  

“Some people you send to us don’t know our method of work. For us, the guerrillas, we are used to suffering. We handle things one by one because one by one makes a bundle, but the people you send us don’t listen to our advice. They touch this and that without prioritising,” he said.

The President said MPs budget for so many things and end up scattering the limited resources.

“They go into increasing their salaries, which makes us delay crucial projects we would have started with. So, you address that issue of MPs you send,” he implored Kalungu’s electorate.

Museveni also said the Kampala-Masaka-Kabale Road was very bad when they were fighting in Katonga during the 1981-1986 bush war.

“It was impassable, but we have reconstructed it several times. We also tarmacked the Mpigi-Mutambala-Kanoni-Sembabule-Masaka Road. Therefore, Kalungu has remained like an island surrounded by tarmac [roads]. What remained was extending tarmac from Kabulasoke-Bugomola-Kyamulibwa-Vila Maria. And we are going to do this,” he pledged.

On access to safe water in the district, Museveni said it now stands at 93%, and the next focus is introducing an irrigation scheme of pumping water directly from the swamps to boost production like they did in Bushenyi district, where well-managed bananas can yield up to 53 tonnes per hectare.

He also reminded the residents of Kalungu that the peace they have enjoyed for nearly 40 years was deliberately built through unity, non-discrimination and strong institutions such as the Police and the army. 

Former minister of defense, Vincent Ssempijja, who is the NRM flag bearer for Kalungu East helps former prime minister Kintu Musoke to walk nearer to see off president Yoweri Museveni after a rally at Lukaya in Kalungu district. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

Hellen Nakkeeya, Kalungu district NRM woman parliamentary flag bearer with her supporters at Lukaya where she received a flag from president Yoweri Museveni.