Presidential Advisor Catherine Kusasira has finally stepped up to her role, calling on President Museveni to arrest and dismiss National Resistance Movement (NRM) mobilisers whom she blames for the party’s humiliating defeat in the Kawempe North by-election.
Unlike most of the uncountable presidential advisors whose job descriptions remain a mystery, Kusasira is at least - or rather at last - making some necessary noise.
NRM’s candidate, Faridah Nambi, was roundly beaten by the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Elias Nalukoola in the Thursday by-election, raising fresh doubts about the ruling party’s grip on Kampala and the central region as the 2026 general elections approach.
In a video message, Kusasira pinned NRM’s loss on what she called incompetent party mobilisers who, instead of rallying support, allegedly diverted Parish Development Model (PDM) funds for personal gain.
"How can NRM receive only 20 votes at a polling station? Where is the PDM money going? It seems these funds are being shared among friends and relatives who don’t even live in the area," she fumed.
"Even NRM council members, including youth and elderly representatives, did not support the party. This shows a failure in mobilisation. Nalukoola was an easy opponent to defeat."
Kusasira said NRM leaders in Kawempe had fed Museveni lies about their support on the ground.
"People are deceiving the President into thinking voters support him, yet that is not true. All party chairpersons in the region should be dismissed. How can the President visit your area and NRM only gets 40 votes?" she wondered.
Kusasira, who, like most presidential advisors, rarely makes headlines for actual advisory work, insisted that all NRM mobilisers in Kawempe should be dismissed and arrested when they visit State House.
She urged Museveni to take stock of his vast army of advisors and party operatives, many of whom she suggested are doing little to justify their positions.
According to the Electoral Commission, Nalukoola won with 17,764 votes, while Nambi managed 8,593.
The election was also marked by heavy security deployment and the harassment of journalists, with several, including Next Media’s Francis Isano, still recovering from injuries.