The election season has arrived, and as usual, the country is awash with slogans. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is shouting ‘Protecting the Gains,’ reminding us of its favourite list: peace, security, roads, electricity, Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, Universal Primary/Secondary Education (UP/SE), and macro-economic stability. According to government messaging, these are the ‘gains’ that must be guarded with vigilance.
The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), meanwhile, is calling for ‘A New Uganda,’ ‘Freedom,’ and ‘Leadership of the People.’ Their message is simple: the so-called gains have not been shared fairly, and ordinary Ugandans deserve dignity and real opportunity. So the big question in this election fever is: Are Ugandans actually happy with their lives, or simply hopeful that things will eventually improve?
Surprisingly, the latest Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Governance Survey (2024/2025) tells us that 81 percent of Ugandans say they are satisfied with the country’s development. This is despite the same report flagging higher corruption, declining institutional trust, and persistent poverty. International happiness surveys add another twist: Uganda’s global score is only around 4.4-4.6/10, yet Ugandans still report relatively high day-to-day optimism. So what is going on? Are the politicians right? Are the surveys misleading? Or do Ugandans know something the rest of the world has missed?
Let me offer a simple explanation: Ugandans are not happy because life is easy. They are happy because life is shared. Our happiness isn’t material – it’s social. When Ubos says we are ‘satisfied,’ they are not capturing wealth or comfort. They are capturing the strength of our social capital, the people we rely on when the formal system fails.
Think about it. Even as the extended family system has weakened, its spirit still dominates how Ugandans survive hardship. We may no longer live in large homesteads, but we live in family-shaped communities: church groups, burial groups, clan committees, Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (Saccos), village savings groups, diaspora WhatsApp groups, youth teams, women’s circles, and PDM and Emyooga clusters.
This is why Ugandans can say ‘I’m okay’ even when pockets are empty. We don’t depend solely on the State; we depend on each other. International surveys are often confused by us because Western happiness is measured through materialism, while African happiness is measured through belonging. A Ugandan who earns little but belongs to a strong support system will rate their life higher than a wealthy person who lives in isolation.
That’s the African logic. Materialism failed us, but social capital never did. Africans have never been obsessed with accumulating private wealth. Wealth was always meaningful because it fed a family, educated a child, united clans, buried a loved one, or strengthened community pride. A cow was valuable not for its price, but for its purpose.
Modernity came with a different message: earn more, buy more, own more, protect what you own. Ugandans have resisted that model, not because they don’t want progress, but because they know that materialism without community leaves you emotionally bankrupt. Our surveys reflect this truth: People are ‘happy’ because they still belong somewhere, even if the State does not always deliver. So what should our politicians learn from this? Whether NRM is saying ‘Protecting the Gains’ or NUP is calling for ‘A New Uganda,’ both sides should pause and study this lesson: The most important ‘gain’ in Uganda today is not roads, GDP growth or foreign investment. It is the resilience of our social fabric.
If government truly wants to improve wellbeing: strengthen families, protect community networks, support Saccos and cooperatives, empower clan structures, invest in local economies that keep households stable, and reduce policies that tear families apart. Because a society held together by strong social capital is cleaner, less corrupt, more hopeful and genuinely happier. Ugandans are not smiling because life is perfect – they are smiling because they still have one another. That is the real ‘gain’ politicians should protect. Ciao