By Aggrey Baba
Ahead of 2026 elections, Presidential hopefuls are intensifying their campaigns across all corners of Uganda, each promoting ambitious policy agendas while navigating unique challenges on the trail.
Candidate Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flagbearer, continued his campaign in the northern Lango sub-region this week, a region historically shaped by insurgency and insecurity. His rallies in districts including Dokolo, Amolatar, Alebtong, Otuke, Apac, and Kwania have drawn thousands of citizens, combining expressions of gratitude for restored peace with pointed demands on local governance.
Museveni underscored his campaign slogan, Protecting the Gains, highlighting initiatives such as wealth creation through the Parish Development Model (PDM), which he has pledged to triple to UGX 300 million per parish. He announced plans to eliminate residual school fees in universal education schools, recruit 50,000 new teachers, and establish a special anti-theft unit for hospital drugs to reduce stock-outs in government health facilities.
Opposition voices have been making inroads across the country, with Forum for Democratic Change’s (FDC) Nathan Nandala Mafabi concluding a five-day tour of the Busoga sub-region, rallying crowds with promises to revitalize the economy, combat corruption, and recognize cultural institutions.
Mafabi pledged to allocate UGX 100 million annually to each village, funded by curbing Uganda’s estimated UGX 10 trillion annual corruption losses, emphasizing local economic empowerment.
Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) candidate Maj. Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu focused on integrity and anti-corruption at his rallies, highlighting poor pay for teachers, the failure to regulate the tea sector, and advocating for the speedy trial of former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye.
National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) has been actively campaigning in Busoga as well, promoting a platform centered on reinstating presidential age and term limits, abolishing the trial of civilians in military courts, and restoring judicial independence.
He has also proposed sweeping civil service reforms, including raising salaries for the lowest-paid police officers and improving the doctor-to-patient ratio from the current 1:20,000 to meet World Health Organization standards.
His campaign has not been without challenges. After a successful rally in Mayuge, yesterday, his team encountered complications attempting to reach a second venue in Iganga. Security forces redirected his convoy from the anticipated site to Namungalwe, citing an agreed-upon route. The candidate and NUP leaders insisted they were blocked, framing the incident as an attempt to limit their outreach, while police maintained there was no obstruction, only a redirection for logistical and security reasons.
Observers note that such episodes underscore the challenges opposition candidates often face in reaching voters, highlighting tensions in Uganda’s hybrid democracy.
Despite logistical difficulties, Kyagulanyi pressed on with his message, emphasizing the unconditional release of political prisoners on his first day in office, plans to abolish the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) office, and strategies to decentralize development through the creation of new regional cities as economic engines.
The presidential campaigns this October have also drawn notable attention from local political figures across party lines. In Lango, for example, FDC MP Moses Okot Bitek and Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) LC5 chair Geoffrey Ocen Kiring attended Museveni’s rallies, highlighting the complex interplay of pragmatism and party loyalty in Uganda’s electoral politics.
Voters continue to raise pressing issues, like the need for better roads, cattle compensation, improved healthcare, and support for fishing communities, and candidates across the spectrum are tailoring messages to these regional concerns while navigating Uganda’s challenging political landscape. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
