By Mulengera Reporters
Newly elected NRM Vice Chairman for Buganda, Hajji Kyeyune Haruna Kasolo, has unveiled a bit of his program and some of the engagements he intends to prioritize as he prepares to hit the ground running.
From his very first public interaction with the media, it’s clear Hon Kasolo knows what is at stake (namely the urgent need for the ruling NRM to recapture Buganda while obliterating NUP) and says he is ready to work with everybody while receiving ideas from those he will be leading with.
As he interacted with reporters, Kasolo, who thanked all the delegates for the support and more so those from Buganda region whose mobilization he will be charged with, Kasolo exhibited humility whereby he says much as he knows what needs to be done and the enormity of the task at hand, he can’t do it alone. He says he will be deliberate about team work, building bridges, mending fences and mobilizing support for the NRM and Gen Museveni in an inclusive manner that won’t leave anyone behind.
He registered his gratitude to Godfrey Kiwanda who he is taking over from, Joseph Mukasa Sewava and Hakim Kyeswa whose collective decision to pull out for him at the last minute, no doubt helped galvanize support for him while creating new momentum only hours to the commencement of voting at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds where he was elected from on Thursday.
Kasolo rightly says that he badly needs close collaboration with each of these as follows; Kyeswa to galvanize political mobilization of the young people whose language the ONC Digital Manager is well conversant with; Kiwanda to spearhead reconciliation and harmonization between newly elected NRM flag bearers and those they each defeated in party primaries. Kasolo says he will be working hard to minimize cases of independent candidates because having those will end up splitting the NRM vote and thereby advantaging the opposition NUP which in 2021 thumped the ruling party.
He has also extended an olive branch to his archrival Moses Karangwa who unfortunately is still refusing to recognize his victory. Kasolo says that, like any other leader, Karangwa has a lot to contribute and offer to amplify overall mobilization for support aimed at delivering victory for Gen Museveni and other NRM candidates. And as such, he doesn’t see any harm in reaching out mending fences with Karangwa and getting him on board.
Whereas Karangwa, understandably, remains angry and unforgiving, Kasolo says his door will remain wide open for his elder comrade who will be welcomed and fully embraced whenever he chooses to make the call. This shows Kasolo, gratefully realizes the difference between politicking and leading or doing the actual job. He rightly realizes that campaigning inside NRM is now done and its now time to mend fences and build bridges, which is how victory will be delivered in an inclusive manner.
He thanks delegates and voters at Kololo who chose his ideas and clear manifesto promises as opposed to falling for money that was plentifully on offer at the Kololo event and days leading up to it. He also realizes the high expectations the thousands of delegates who enthusiastically received him in their districts and voted for him at Kololo, have in him.
He says achieving this and meeting those high expectations will require being open-minded and willing to receive ideas, suggestions and positive criticisms too. He says the NRM comprises of people with diverse capabilities and he is prepared to leverage all that to deliver a huge political dividend for his party. He asserts that difficult as it seems, getting NRM recapture Buganda is achievable and it’s something he knows how it can be done-and he is going to do it.
Kasolo also realizes time is gone yet there is a lot to be done and accomplished. Ready to hit the ground running, Kasolo says that this Sunday 31st August, he will be joining fellow Ministers, MPs and other elected NRM leaders from Buganda for a political rally in Bukomansimbi. This will be for the ‘Buganda for Museveni’ campaign whose activities had been paused a bit to allow the CEC campaigns and elections to be concluded.
“The comprehensive mobilization program we are rolling out under this new mandate won’t be that much different from the Buganda for Museveni campaign. These are going to be complementary mobilization activities carried out by us the same leaders who will be pulling in the same direction at all times,” Kasolo clarifies.
AFRICANA MEETING: Yet more importantly is the huge consultative meeting Kasolo is convening at Hotel Africana in Kampala this coming Thursday 4th September. He has invited all newly elected NRM flag bearers for MP and LC5 positions in all districts and constituencies of Buganda.
To ensure maximum inclusivity, Kasolo says even those each of those flag bearers defeated has been invited and the idea is to listen from each one of them so that more workable ideas are discussed and agreed upon as the country counts down to 2026.
Kasolo says that from the deliberations of that day, clearer ideas will emerge on how to engage each of them to ensure that those who lost don’t stand as independents to antagonize and diminish chances for the flag bearers. He says that the Thursday engagement won’t be the end but the beginning as there will have to be many more subsequent engagements aimed at deescalating tensions and eliminating intrigue among Movementists.
The Thursday meeting will begin at 8am and will be followed by another Buganda for Museveni rally in Mukono the following Sunday of 7th September. All elected NRM MPs and serving Ministers will be expected at the Mukono event whose overall objective is to re-energize the NRM base while popularizing Gen YK Museveni and other NRM candidates.
Kasolo also intends to vitalize the NRM village structures of 30 elected leaders per village. He says that each of these members has a spouse, children, dependents and people they employ. He believes this can be galvanized into a massive block vote for Gen Museveni and other NRM candidates.
He believes all that has to be done is to engage them directly and listen to them to understand their grievances if any and once those grievances are addressed, they will become re-energized and deliver overwhelming victory for the NRM in the ballot box to the detriment of NUP and other opposition parties, which have been trying hard to monopolize politics in Buganda while demonizing Museveni and his adherents. He also intends to closely work with all the ruling party leagues.
He also says that grievances which alienated NRM in Buganda in 2021 have carefully been identified and they are going to be deliberately confronted and to him, the most prominent of these is land injustices. He says this problem of land-related deprivation is going to be deliberately addressed in all districts of Buganda.
Kasolo says that because perpetrators of land grabbing are deeply entrenched, his strategy is going to be one of involving as many leaders of the Movement as possible. He says he intends to create committees responsible to combat land grabbing and the related injustices in designated parts of Buganda.
The region is going to be split up into zones, each of which will be assigned a committee of powerful officials to permanently shield the ordinary people against any land-related deprivation and victimization. This intervention will no doubt boost State Lands Minister Dr. Sam Mayanja who has spent the past four years taking on land grabbers almost single-handedly. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
