President Museveni has called on National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders in the Busoga sub-region to embrace humility, unity and discipline, warning that persistent divisions among leaders are undermining service delivery and delaying socio-economic transformation.
Speaking to thousands of NRM leaders from all Busoga districts at Iganga Girls’ Secondary School on Saturday, President Museveni said leadership without humility breeds conflict and ultimately harms ordinary Ugandans, particularly the poor.
“So please, I ask you to be humble as leaders. If I were not humble, I would not have managed Uganda,” Museveni said, drawing applause from party cadres and local leaders.
The President, who is also the NRM national chairman and the party’s presidential flag bearer for the 2026 general elections, stressed that unity among political leaders is not optional but essential for national development.
He warned that when leaders quarrel, it is the poor who suffer most, as they rely heavily on stable governance and coordinated leadership to escape poverty.
“What I advise you is that poor people need unity among the leaders because you are delaying their coming out of poverty by not working together,” he said.
“The ones suffering are the poor people. When the rich are quarrelling, they are in good cars and houses. They can afford to quarrel. Every day someone remains in poverty, someone may even die because of poverty.”
His remarks came amid long-standing political rivalries in Busoga that have often pitted senior NRM figures against one another, weakening party cohesion.
President Museveni contrasted Busoga’s internal divisions with other regions where similar NRM meetings had been held, citing Bukedi, Lango, Bugisu, West Nile and Acholi as examples of greater unity among leaders despite political differences.
He revealed that the Busoga meeting itself was convened at the request of Persis Namuganza, the state minister for lands, but was later affected by the very divisions it sought to resolve.
“You must cure this problem because it is Namuganza who asked me to bring this meeting here,” Museveni said, adding that he was disappointed that some senior NRM leaders from Busoga did not attend.
The President recounted personally intervening to clarify confusion surrounding invitations, particularly involving Rebecca Kadaga, the first deputy prime minister and minister for East African Community affairs.
“I spoke to Kadaga to ask where she was, and she told me she was not invited,” Museveni said.
He later established that invitations had been issued through resident district commissioners, district internal security officers and party structures down to parish and village levels.
NRM chairman for Iganga District, Hajji Abubakar Walubi, confirmed that all district party leaders were informed and that many attended the meeting.
The gathering was part of a broader NRM strategy to energise grassroots structures ahead of the January 15, 2026 general elections, as the ruling party seeks to consolidate support.
President Museveni said the meeting aimed to equip leaders with a consistent NRM message, outlined in a party booklet detailing what he described as the movement’s seven historic contributions since coming to power.
He identified peace as the NRM’s most important achievement, arguing that without stability, no meaningful development is possible.
“Even without doing other things, as long as we have peace, everything can be achieved,” he said.
Museveni said peace was attained by rejecting identity-based politics rooted in tribe and religion, which he described as the main cause of instability in Uganda’s early post-independence years.
Using personal examples, he explained how national unity fuels economic prosperity through interdependence among regions.
“I am a Munyankore cattle keeper, but Banyankore do not buy my milk, beef and bananas because they also have them. People in Kampala and other regions buy what they don’t have,” he said.
He applied the same logic to Busoga’s sugar industry, noting that sugar consumed across the country comes from Busoga and other regions.
Beyond nationalism, the President emphasised Pan-Africanism, particularly the importance of the East African Community market.
Uganda produces about 700,000 tonnes of sugar annually, yet domestic demand stands at roughly 300,000 tonnes, leaving a surplus that depends on regional markets. Similarly, milk production stands at 5.3 billion litres, while local consumption is under one billion litres.
“If we didn’t have the East African market, industries for milk, beef, sugar, cement and steel would have collapsed,” Museveni said.
He listed infrastructure development as the second major NRM contribution and wealth creation as the third, revisiting the four-acre model introduced in the 1996 manifesto.
To illustrate its success, he cited Fred Byamukama, whose four-acre farm generates significant income from eggs, coffee and livestock.
“He sells 310 trays of eggs a day, earning about Shs108 million per month and remaining with Shs55 million as profit,” Museveni said.
Another example was Korea Dick Ogira, a mango farmer in Abim District, who earns Shs36 million per acre.
The President said government programmes such as Entandikwa, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation and the Parish Development Model (PDM) have supported household wealth creation.
Under PDM, each parish receives Shs100 million annually.
“I know people who were very poor in villages but have used this money to get out of poverty,” he said.
Museveni identified job creation as the fourth NRM contribution, noting that employment naturally arises from commercial agriculture and manufacturing.
He cited Johnson Basangwa of Jeka Poultry Farm in Kamuli, whose business employs about 300 people.
NRM national vice chairperson Moses Kigongo thanked Busoga leaders for their turnout, expressing confidence that the region would strongly support the party in the upcoming elections.
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among said the meeting was intended to ensure message discipline at grassroots level.
“Whereas Museveni is President, you are also presidents of your villages,” she told the leaders.
She announced that leaders in attendance would receive Shs15 million under PDM and revealed plans to increase LC1 chairpersons’ monthly allowance from Shs10,000 to Shs100,000, prompting applause.
“In Busoga, we have only Team Busoga and Team Museveni,” Among declared.
The meeting was attended by several senior NRM figures, including Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, Rukia Nakadama and Milly Babalanda, among others.
