By Aggrey Baba
Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s recent declaration of a 2031 presidential bid has triggered a fresh scramble among National Resistance Movement (NRM) politicians and government ministers to associate themselves with his Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), but long-time MK cadres are now warning the new entrants against treating PLU as a political shelter for their past scandals.
Among those sounding the warning is Susan Kushaba, a long-time PLU cadre and former Kampala Central MP candidate, who says she started promoting the MK project when many of the politicians now rushing to embrace Muhoozi were still questioning his political potential.
Muhoozi, who is the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and also PLU chairman, publicly declared his intention to seek the presidency in 2031 last month, reigniting debate about his political future and triggering renewed mobilization around his candidature.
Reuters reported the declaration as an explicit presidential bid, while Muhoozi said his father, President Museveni, would manage his campaign.
Since then, a number of NRM bigwigs and government officials have stepped up their association with PLU and Muhoozi’s political project, with the movement also expanding its mobilization and endorsement activities across the country.
Kushaba, however, says some of the people now rushing to identify themselves with Muhoozi should remember that others were doing the groundwork long before his political ambitions became as openly declared as they are today.
She warned that PLU should not be turned into a “sinners’ den” by politicians hoping that association with Muhoozi will shield them from corruption scandals or other controversies.
According to Kushaba, rhe CDF should not be expected to protect people simply because they have joined his political camp.
“If he can arrest his fellow generals, what makes mere civilians think he will spare them?” she asked, citing what she described as Muhoozi’s willingness to take action against senior officers accused of wrongdoing.
Kushaba particularly singled out Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs Minsa Kabanda, with whom she competed for the Kampala Central parliamentary seat in the January 2026 elections.
Kabanda was declared winner with 22,332 votes against NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya’s 18,242. Rubongoya subsequently petitioned the High Court, alleging irregularities in the election and claiming that he was robbed of victory. The petition is among the Kampala election disputes currently before court.
Kushaba, who came behind Kabanda, Rubongoya and businessman Abraham Luzzi in the contest, has maintained that she is prepared to testify in the case if called upon.
Mulengera News previously reported her saying that she possessed declaration forms from the election which, according to her, supported Rubongoya’s case and that she was ready to depone an affidavit.
Now Kushaba says she is particularly surprised that Kabanda, whom she alleges had previously doubted Muhoozi’s political potential, is among those leading PLU mobilization activities and has been entrusted with registration books to collect signatures for the MK endorsement drive in Kampala.
Kabanda herself recently said PLU and NRM mobilization networks helped her win the Kampala Central election and has since been involved in mobilizing Kampala youth for Muhoozi’s 2031 political project.
Kushaba questions whether Kabanda can effectively mobilize Kampala residents for Muhoozi when she herself is still facing an election challenge from the NUP secretary general.
“If you could not genuinely win the election in Kampala Central, how are you going to mobilize these people to support Gen Muhoozi?” Kushaba asked, while maintaining that she understands the constituency better because of her years of grassroots work for PLU and the MK project.
She also renewed her offer to appear as a witness for Rubongoya, saying that although she had not personally been approached by him or his lawyers, some of her election agents had been contacted. Kushaba said she had given them the green light to provide Rubongoya with any relevant evidence they possess.
But while emphasizing her long-standing commitment to Muhoozi, Kushaba says she has no problem with not yet receiving one of the cadre numbers that Gen Muhoozi has been assigning to prominent PLU supporters.
Asked why she has not been allocated a number, she said her loyalty to the movement does not depend on receiving a cadre number, but she revealed that she had since been given a very big position in the movement.
“I am a devoted cadre. I don’t need a number to operate or work for the movement,” Kushaba said.
She added that she has been on the ground working for the movement since the beginning, long before the current wave of political figures began identifying themselves with Muhoozi.
Kushaba said she intends to remain focused on mobilizing support for Muhoozi, whom she believes should become Uganda’s president in 2031.
She also used the PLU demonstration against Turkey to renew her criticism of blogger Fred Kajubi Lumbuye, accusing him of damaging both Muhoozi’s image and Uganda’s reputation abroad through his online activities.
Kushaba said that controversies surrounding Lumbuye and other Uganda-related political content circulating internationally could discourage foreigners who might otherwise consider Uganda as a tourism destination.
She made the remarks in a brief interview with Mulengera News after Friday’s PLU march to the Turkish Embassy in Kampala. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
