From seasoned politicians like Ali Kirunda Kivejinja to Uganda’s first female vice president Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, and the country’s first female Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Busoga has long been a region of towering political figures.
However, the latest battle for dominance is not about development—it’s about who speaks for Busoga.
At the heart of the current political storm is a rivalry between Kadaga, the former Speaker of Parliament, and her successor Anita Among.
Camps have formed, accusations are flying, and the battle lines are drawn. But is this about ego, power, or a deeper issue of political disunity?
Opposition figure Salaamu Musumba argues that Busoga’s real problem is state capture and internal divisions among its leaders.
“This government has been very mean. They make someone big in your region, and you’re supposed to celebrate the person, not resources,” she says, adding that Busoga has fallen victim to “big names and empty spaces.”
Musumba recalls that the issues facing Busoga today—poverty, poor infrastructure, and underdevelopment—were the same concerns raised in the Busoga People’s Charter years ago, yet little has changed.
“We are only a stone’s throw away from where resources are distributed, yet we remain marginalized,” she laments.
Political analyst Mwabutsya Ndebesa believes the region’s woes stem from a lack of political ideology.
“They are in NRM because of positions, not because of a shared vision to move the country forward. So, you expect polarization—it’s about who can gather more support, who can organize more clients,” he says.
For Ndebesa, neither Kadaga nor Among represents the future of Busoga.
“If the verdict were mine alone, I would drop both of them. What do they add to the people of Busoga or even to NRM? You mean to tell me there’s no Musoga or even a Muteso who can do better than these two?” he questions.
As the political wrangling intensifies, the people of Busoga remain caught in the middle, left wondering whether this battle will ever translate into meaningful development—or if they are simply witnessing yet another round of big names fighting over an ever-shrinking political space.