MBALE – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Saturday took his 2026 re-election message to the mountainous district of Namisindwa, rallying thousands of supporters to continue trusting the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
In his speech, the president outlined what he called the NRM’s four major contributions to Uganda: peace, development, wealth for homesteads and jobs from wealth creation. He added a fifth one — free education — as a cornerstone of his government’s legacy.
“You find politicians telling you that jobs come from the government. When you hear that the government has more jobs than the economy, then you know that it is a backward country. Jobs come from wealth creation in sectors such as commercial agriculture, manufacturing, and services like hotels and salons,” Museveni told the cheering crowd.
His message, delivered under intermittent drizzles, described the NRM as the party that moved Uganda from chaos to progress.
On peace, the NRM presidential candidate recalled the struggle that brought his party to power in 1986, stressing that peace and unity remain the bedrock of all progress Uganda has achieved.
“It was not easy to bring peace to Uganda, but because we believe in unity and not sectarianism, we have built strong institutions like the army, police, prisons, and intelligence services that can guard the peace,” he said.
The president contrasted Uganda’s current stability with the turmoil of the past, recalling a time when “Ugandans were refugees in other countries.” Today, he noted, Uganda hosts refugees from across the region, a testament, he said, to its peace and stability.
“You remember in the past, people from here smuggled goods from Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. Now there are so many goods in Uganda that the buyers are the ones who are few,” Museveni said.
For the president, this peace is not merely the absence of war but the foundation upon which other pillars — development, wealth creation and jobs — stand.
From peace, President Museveni transitioned to development, the NRM’s second pillar. He cited the expansion of infrastructure and social services across Namisindwa as evidence of the government’s commitment to transformation.
“The tarmac road has reached Lwakhakha from Mbale. The challenge now is to move it from Magale to Namisindwa Central. Also, the Bubulo-Budadiri road is already funded, but it does not pass here, so we shall work on both,” he said.
In education, the President reiterated the government’s policy of having one government primary school per parish and one secondary school per sub-county. Namisindwa, he noted, currently has 95 government primary schools and eight government secondary schools, complemented by 17 private secondary schools.
However, 91 out of the district’s 163 parishes still lack a government primary school, while 21 of its 29 sub-counties have no government secondary school.
The President announced that three new seed secondary schools are under construction, which will reduce the number of sub-counties without government secondary schools to 18.
In health, President Museveni acknowledged existing gaps, revealing that out of Namisindwa’s 29 sub-counties, 19 lack any health facility. Plans are underway to upgrade several Health Centre IIs to Health Centre IIIs, including Bukhaweka, Mukoto, Bukiabi, and Buwuma, as well as constructing new health centers in 14 sub-counties.
“Namisindwa still has no hospital or HCIV, but we are addressing this,” he said.
On water and sanitation, President Museveni noted that only 52% of Namisindwa’s villages have access to safe water, with projects ongoing to expand the piped water system and construct boreholes.
“We completed the Namisindwa Town Council piped water supply serving 12,238 people. We are now expanding coverage,” he said.
He also mentioned the Lirima Medium Scale Irrigation Scheme and Bunamulungi Irrigation Demonstration Site, planned to enhance agricultural productivity through irrigation.
On electricity, President Museveni said, it has reached Namisindwa through the national grid, though more distribution is needed.
“The district is now connected; it’s only a question of spreading it out,” he assured.
Wealth for Homesteads:
President Museveni’s third and most emphatic theme was wealth creation, a long-running message in his speeches across the country. He cautioned residents not to confuse development with personal wealth.
“You must be clear that wealth is different from development. You may have development, but if you don’t have guidance, poverty will remain in your families. That’s why we started sending you money, to get you out of poverty,” he said.
He retraced the government’s journey from Entandikwa, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Emyooga, to the latest Parish Development Model (PDM). Each program, he said, was designed to help households transition into the money economy.
In Namisindwa, President Museveni revealed that the PDM had made remarkable progress. The district’s 163 parishes have cumulatively received Shs. 50.1 billion, of which 97.28% has been disbursed to 51,113 households, covering 80.3% of all households.
President Museveni cited success stories to illustrate his point. He mentioned Mudebo of Sironko, who started with two acres and now produces 60 litres of milk daily and earns Shs. 90 million annually from coffee. Another was Nyanaka Richard of Fort Portal, whose one-acre “Kaana Farm” combines dairy, poultry, and manure production. He earns Shs. 108 million per year from eggs and milk, and employs several people.
“Use the money we send you to get out of poverty. We shall continue sending that money. We can even increase it, like the extra 15 million shillings for the leaders,” he urged, adding that the government is to establish a special fund for religious leaders and cultural leaders, and a fund for university graduates without jobs.
Wealth Produces Jobs:
President Museveni’s fourth pillar focused on job creation. He challenged what he called a “false narrative” by opposition politicians that jobs come from government employment.
“There are only 480,000 jobs in government, yet we have a population of 50 million. How can we all work for the government?” he asked. “In developed countries, very few people work for the government. Most are in the private sector.”
To demonstrate his point, President Museveni highlighted the example of Hon. Fred Byamukama, the Minister of State for Transport, who turned his four-acre farm into a multi-enterprise model, earning Shs. 700 million per year from poultry alone and employing 26 Ugandans.
“The wealth of Byamukama has produced jobs. That’s what many people don’t know,” President Museveni said.
He noted that job creation under the NRM stems from four main sectors: commercial agriculture, manufacturing and industrialization, services, and ICT. Pointing to the booming Mbale Industrial City, he said: “The town is full of factories – that’s where jobs are coming from.”
Free Education:
President Museveni again revisited one of his longest-running campaigns: free education for all, saying that school administrators continue to impose charges that keep poor children out of government schools.
“Since 1986, I have been insisting on free education, and that’s why I introduced it in 1996. But some people bring school charges, and pupils drop out. I want to show you that free education is possible,” he said.
To illustrate, President Museveni listened to the testimony of Ms. Joy Munyalo, a 38-year-old graduate of the Bugisu Zonal Presidential Industrial Hub in Mbale. Munyalo, a single mother who had dropped out in Senior Four, trained in hairdressing under the State House skilling program.
“I was the best student,” she said, thanking President Museveni for giving hope to young women.
“With Shs. 200,000 from the State House Comptroller, I started a small salon. Today, I employ nine single mothers who also dropped out of school.”
President Museveni said Munyalo’s story demonstrates the transformative power of skilling and free education.
“These children were hopeless, but now they are employers,” he said, calling upon the NRM leaders to discuss the issue of charges in government schools in the coming government, and reaffirmed his support for fully free education.
“Therefore, I want you, NRM people, in the coming government, you discuss the issue of charges in government schools. I support free education. Do you support it?” he asked, as the crowd responded, “Yes!”
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Among, also NRM’s second national vice chairperson, thanked Museveni for promoting cross-border trade at the Lwakhakha border with Kenya.
“We can now trade easily, without hassle. Even a blind person can see what you have done for Uganda,” she said.
Mr. Calvin Echodu, NRM vice chairperson for Eastern Region, welcomed the President back to what he termed as a familiar territory of his historical struggle. He raised two key priorities for the sub-region: the one-stop border point at Lwakhakha and completion of road infrastructure to improve trade connectivity.
The NRM Chairperson for Namisindwa, Mr. Aramazan Wabuko thanked the President for his visionary leadership but called for additional interventions, including youth empowerment programs, improved health facilities, and a reduction of the SAGE beneficiary age from 80 to 75 years.
Namisindwa, one of Uganda’s youngest districts, has been a reliable NRM stronghold. In the 2021 presidential elections, the district recorded 60.4% voter turnout. President Museveni polled 40,563 votes (73.3%), while NUP’s candidate managed 12,780 (23.1%).
According to the 2024 census, the district’s population stands at 257,346, with 116,258 registered voters across 302 polling stations, up from 254 in 2021.
President Museveni will on Monday, November 10, 2025, conclude his campaign tour of the Bugisu sub-region with a grand rally in Mbale City. Afterward, he will begin his campaign rallies in the Sebei sub-region, covering the districts of Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo.
