By Mulengera Reporters
Renowned Butaleja and Bukedi sub-region activist Moses Lyada, popularly known as People Power, has declared his bid for the Butaleja District LCV chairperson seat in the 2026 elections, running as an independent candidate.
Lyada, the current National Unity Platform (NUP) coordinator for Butaleja and the Bukedi sub-region, previously contested for the Bunyole West MP seat on the NUP ticket in 2021, where he emerged fourth out of seven candidates. He says he has chosen to step away from parliamentary ambitions because all the issues he has long championed (from infrastructure to service delivery) are rooted in Butaleja.
According to him, going to Parliament would keep him in Kampala, but he wants to first “clean his home” before anything else.
The son of the late Mzee Nalume Eridadi and Mbabazi Margret Tasiyana, has an extensive academic background with diplomas in business and cooperative administration, microfinance and SACCO management, a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a postgraduate diploma in public administration and management, and ongoing master’s studies at Uganda Management Institute.
He has served as Bukedi Sub-region NUP coordinator and former guild speaker at both Uganda Cooperative College Kigumba and Team University Kampala. Locals gave him the nickname People Power for his activism, particularly leading campaigns for the tarmacking of the Namutumba–Butaleja–Lwangoli road.
His push for this road once saw him detained by the Special Forces Command at Iganga CPS for carrying T-shirts and red berets branded with the slogan “No Tarmac Road, No Vote for NRM in Butaleja.” Many locals credit him for influencing President Museveni’s decision to include the road among the 15 to be tarmacked.
Lyada has laid out an ambitious plan for the district if elected, promising to fight corruption in recruitment and procurement, reclaim public assets such as tractors from unauthorised users, improve health and education services, promote local economic development, maintain feeder roads, curb cattle theft, attract development partners, and empower women, youth, and widows to participate in the monetary economy.
He has also pledged to fulfil his long-standing promise of sponsoring underprivileged Muslims in Butaleja to go for Hajj, describing it as a spiritual and community obligation.
Additionally, he says the district must harness all available talent, including supporting musicians and sports personalities, as a way of developing young people and strengthening the local economy.
He also wants to establish industrial parks in the eastern and western counties of the district and promote safe labour migration through a special monitoring and rescue desk for migrant workers.
A leading Kadama activist in Butaleja, Lyada is known for rescuing women from unsafe working conditions abroad, (mostly in the gulf) saying he will require all residents seeking jobs overseas to register their details with his office for easy monitoring and quick rescue if needed.
He has also warned that persistent wrangles between local leaders and Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) have created instability in the district, with more than five CAOs and RDCs serving in just five years. He promises to use his management skills to end these conflicts and stabilise governance.
He added that if elected, he will form SACCOS and development associations across the entire district to spur self-reliance and community financing. He encouraged residents to accept money from other candidates but vote wisely and choose substance over short-term gain.
Lyada says he chose to run as an independent because Butaleja’s politics are deeply divided along party, religious, tribal, and economic lines, and the district needs a neutral, patriotic leader. He appealed to Kadama returnees, wetland rice farmers, and other residents to unite behind him, noting that he has served the community for years without personal gain.
Among his many community efforts, he cites mobilising medical support for vulnerable residents, including a 14-year-old mother of quadruplets whose children are now under the care of Watoto Church Ministries.
“This is the time for Butaleja to have the best LCV chairperson it has ever had,” he said, adding that he will introduce capacity-building programmes for district councillors to improve service delivery and governance. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
