By Aggrey Baba
At the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Chairman’s Office in Nakasero, while a large group of Kampala youth mobilizers gathered to receive registration books for Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s 2031 presidential endorsement drive on Monday, September 7th, Minister for Kampala Minsa Kabanda revealed that the same political machinery that helped her defeat National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General (SG) David Rubongoya is now ready to work for the first son.
Kabanda arrived at the Nakasero office with a sizeable contingent of youth and other supporters drawn from different parts of Kampala, whom she said had played a critical role in her recent campaign and victory.
“I was working with PLU, I was working with NRM circles, and we managed to win Kampala,” Kabanda said, crediting the foot soldiers for helping her overcome NUP’s Rubongoya.
She said the groups had also previously mobilized support for Presiden Museveni in Kampala and were now prepared to undertake a similar mobilization assignment for Gen. MK.
The remarks came as David Kabanda, head of the PLU Chairman’s Office, formally handed over registration books to Minsa, who has been tasked with coordinating the endorsement exercise in Kampala.
According to the Kasabya County MP David Kabanda, the exercise is being conducted on the instructions of PLU chairman Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and will eventually cover approximately 72,000 villages across the country.
For Kampala, the exercise will be organized through the five divisions of Kampala Central, Kawempe, Nakawa, Lubaga and Makindye, and each division will have its own register, with supporters expected to provide their names, phone numbers, and other particulars.
The organizers are also recording the details of the people compiling the registers, a move David Kabanda said was intended to ensure that grassroots mobilizers are recognized and their contribution captured.
The filled books will later be returned to the PLU office, where the information will be typed and organized before being sent back to the respective communities for verification.
Kabanda (Omutume) said the process would eventually include photos of registered members in an effort to establish a genuine and credible register.
He said the PLU arrived at this decision following complaints that have repeatedly emerged during NRM primaries, where candidates have at times questioned the credibility of voter registers and alleged inflated figures.
“We are looking forward to having a genuine register,” he said.
David Kabanda also clarified that for now, PLU has no plans of being transformed into a political party.
“The information I have from our chairman is that we are not going to become a political party,” he said, explaining that PLU intends to remain a civic organization.
He encouraged PLU supporters to continue supporting the NRM, saying the organization hopes to achieve its objectives under the ruling movement.
David Kabanda also praised Minsa for her consistent support for Muhoozi and PLU from when the project was initiated.
He said the Kampala Central MP supported Gen. Muhoozi even before the formation of the MK Movement and later became one of the people who registered with PLU.
According to him, Minsa was also the first minister to publicly endorse Muhoozi, before other ministers followed.
He said Muhoozi’s subsequent reposting of Minsa’s endorsement was viewed by his supporters as an indication that the CDF had approved the message.
David Kabanda further credited Minsa with helping restore confidence among NRM supporters in Kampala, saying some supporters had previously become afraid to openly identify with the ruling party and its yellow colors, recalling the political tensions surrounding the 2026 elections, arguing that wearing yellow in some parts of the city had become difficult.
He also congratulated Minsa on her victory over Rubongoya, saying she had genuinely won the election and that PLU and NRM were prepared to support her in court. Minsa is one of the many NRM MPs who were dragged to court by their opponents who accuse them of elections malpractice.
The Muhoozi endorsement drive will culminate in a major handover of Kampala’s completed registers at Kololo on December 20, David Kabanda said.
Unlike other districts, whose books will be collected by PLU officials, including Kabanda himself, Kampala’s books will be presented directly to Gen. Muhoozi by Minsa and the people involved in the exercise.
He said PLU also intends to organize endorsement rallies to demonstrate that the people listed in the books genuinely endorsed Muhoozi rather than having their names entered without their knowledge.
Minsa, for her part, urged the mobilizers to conduct the exercise peacefully and without forcing anyone to join.
“If you don’t want to join, don’t join,” she said, emphasizing that the campaign should be based on patriotism and persuasion, not money.
The mobilization, Minsa said would involve moving from community to community rather than concentrating on Kampala Central.
She also urged those handling the books to ensure that only genuine supporters are registered, insisting that there should be no fictitious names.
“For us we are going to fight, not by gun, but we are going to use our brain to fight those people, like we did during my campaigns,” she said.
The event was attended by several NRM MPs, including Kibedi Nsegumire, Kafeero Ssekitoleko and Ibrahim Kyoto Muluri, alongside youth and women mobilizers from Kampala. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
