The call for new districts has resurfaced with renewed urgency across Uganda, as leaders and communities seek administrative autonomy, often invoking service delivery as justification.
But the motivations are rarely that simple—especially in the run-up to a national election.
Kassambya Constituency in Mubende District is the latest to reignite a long-standing demand for district status, citing a presidential pledge dating back to 2010.
The constituency’s leaders say they feel overlooked and betrayed following President Museveni’s recent approval of three new districts and a city in Tororo, a move that has sent shockwaves across other parts of the country and intensified a broader clamour for decentralisation.
“This is a matter of justice and balance,” said Venerable Joram Kiwanuka of Kassambya Church of Uganda.
“If the president gave Tororo three districts and a city, why not Kassambya? We’ve waited for 15 years.”
The Tororo decision, seen by many as a political masterstroke to resolve a long-standing ethnic dispute in eastern Uganda, has inadvertently created a ripple effect.
In Ayivu West, in Arua City, local leaders are also pushing for district status.
From Sebei to Bunyoro, across Bugisu and parts of Karamoja, similar appeals have grown louder, as communities fear being left behind in the administrative reshuffle.
But the timing of these demands is telling. They tend to escalate ahead of elections, when the presidency is most susceptible to local pressures and when pledges—made years earlier—resurface as political liabilities.
Kassambya’s case exemplifies this dynamic.
Andrew Mukasa Ssempijja, head of Buwekula Ssaza, says the government’s promise to elevate Kassambya into a district was made on a campaign stop at Kassambya school playground in 2010.
“Fifteen years later, nothing. That delay has hindered our development,” he said.
Ssempijja cited the constituency’s population of over 260,000 people, saying it qualifies for its own administrative unit.
Clerics and National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders have now joined forces to pressure President Museveni.
Sheikh Abdrahman Basigirenda of the Kassambya Muslim Community said the disparity with Tororo was hard to digest.
“In our religion, it is wrong to promise and fail to deliver. Kassambya’s roads are a disaster, and services are far from the people. A district would change that.”
Sheikh Magezi Nsereko, the NRM Secretary for Mubende, warned of electoral fallout if the pledge is not honoured.
“We are likely to lose support in 2026. Many were furious when they saw what happened in Tororo,” he said.
In Uganda, district creation has long served as both a development tool and a political strategy.
The NRM government has championed decentralisation since the late 1990s, with the number of districts ballooning from 33 in 1990 to over 135 today.
Proponents argue that smaller districts improve governance, bring services closer, and enhance political inclusion.
Critics, however, say they increase administrative costs, strain limited resources, and often reflect gerrymandering rather than genuine development needs.
Kassambya leaders believe their case stands out.
Vincent Tumusiime Kissanja, NRM chairperson for the area, cited its historical significance during the NRA bush war.
“This is where the first bullet was fired in 1981," he saud. "It is where President Museveni’s journey to State House began. He owes Kassambya.”
Former MP Patrick Muliindwa pointed to the political risks of inaction.
“I was voted out because I couldn’t deliver Kassambya District. Others like Benny Bugembe and Amooti Kibuuka also lost their positions. This pattern may repeat if the president doesn’t act.”
Whether Kassambya's plea will succeed remains uncertain.
What is clear is that the district fever—driven by unfulfilled promises, election cycles, and strategic local mobilisation—has returned, and President Museveni may find himself cornered by expectations of his own making.