SIRONKO, Uganda — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launched his campaign in the Bugisu sub-region with a rally in Sironko District on Tuesday, highlighting his party’s infrastructure and development record.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) standard-bearer addressed thousands of supporters after concluding his campaign tour of the Teso sub-region in Bukedea district. The campaign operates under the theme: “Securing Uganda’s Future.”
Museveni thanked Sironko residents for their support and urged them to vote for all NRM flag bearers.
“Peace was not easy to achieve,” Museveni said. “The NRM worked tirelessly for many years, guided by our ideology and a commitment to avoid sectarianism. All the development you see in Sironko today has come from the NRM.”
He listed key infrastructure projects completed under his government, including roads linking Mbale to Kapchorwa and Karamoja, and the Bumbobi-Lwakhakha road. He also announced plans to upgrade the Namagumba–Budadiri–Nalugugu road.
On water access, Museveni said 1,374 of Sironko’s 1,543 rural villages, or 89%, now have safe water. He said 24 piped water supply and sanitation systems are operational across the district, serving areas such as Mutufu Town Board, Buteza, Pato, Buwalasi and Buginyanya.
The government plans to expand coverage to the remaining 169 villages and construct the Nasumati Piped Water Supply and Sanitation System.
In education, Museveni said Sironko District has 224 parishes, 98 of which have at least one government primary school, while 126 lack schools. The district has 111 government primary schools serving 98,962 pupils and 12 government secondary schools with 10,660 students.
He pledged that each parish will eventually get a government primary school and every sub-county will host a secondary school. Plans are also underway to build three new secondary seed schools through the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project.
On health, Museveni said two of Sironko’s 42 sub-counties have Health Centre IV facilities, 18 have Health Centre III facilities and 22 lack health facilities of HCIII or above.
The government plans to upgrade several HCII facilities to HCIII, including Bubbeza, Buyaya, Kyesha, Bugusege and Nampanga. Additional HCIIIs are planned for Buhungu, Bukyabo and Bumalimba, alongside efforts to fight malaria, improve immunization and equip health units.
Museveni highlighted government agricultural initiatives that boosted productivity in coffee, bananas and milk. He said the NRM modernized coffee production through research at the Kawanda Agricultural Research Center, improving quality and yields.
Under the Parish Development Model, Sironko’s 224 parishes have received a cumulative 68.99 billion shillings, with 98.63% disbursed to 66,809 households. The district also has 36 Emyooga SACCOs with 18,821 members, who received 1.54 billion shillings in support.
Museveni pledged continued investment in education, health, water, roads and agriculture. He highlighted skills development through Presidential Industrial Hubs, noting the Bugisu hub in Mbale trained 1,167 youth in welding, carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing and bakery.
The president presented NRM flags to aspiring members of Parliament, local council leaders and other party candidates in Sironko District, formally endorsing them for the upcoming elections.
NRM leaders, including Eastern Region Vice Chairman Calvin Echodu and Sironko District NRM Chairperson Lumolo Mafabi, welcomed the president. They cited the party’s 2021 election successes and called for an upgrade to the district hospital.
The event was attended by NRM Central Executive Committee members, members of Parliament, religious and cultural leaders and thousands of supporters.
