Mr Museveni has pledged to establish a permanent Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) battalion in Kamwenge District, saying the installation will strengthen security for communities that have remained vulnerable following recent attacks by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.
Mr Museveni, the NRM presidential candidate, made the commitment during a campaign rally in Kamwenge yesterday. The request had earlier been made by Kamwenge NRM District chairperson and Kibale East MP Frank Tumwebaze, who said residents living near Kibale National Park continue to live in fear after the deadly December 2023 ADF incursions.
‘Our people live in fear; whenever they hear of any suspected attack, they run away and fail to concentrate on production,’ Mr Tumwebaze said, urging the government to compensate affected families and establish a permanent military base near the park boundary.
Suitable land
In response, Mr Museveni agreed to the request and directed district leaders to identify land where the battalion will be stationed.
‘Tumwebaze has brought a good proposal. We shall place a battalion near Kibale National Park. Look for a good piece of land-not in a wetland or flood-prone area-and we shall build a permanent army barracks,’ he said.
Kamwenge has recently suffered ADF attacks from across the DR Congo border. On December 18, 2023, a total of 10 people were killed in Kitehurizi Village, followed by another attack on Christmas night in which three more people were killed in Nyabitusi Village.
Industrial park
Mr Museveni also pledged an industrial park for the Tooro-Kamwenge region, but clarified that it will be in the neighbouring Kyegegwa District, where the government has secured about five square miles of land inside the Kyaka Refugee Settlement. ‘You have seen how many jobs an industrial park can create-Mbale Industrial Park created 12,000 jobs on one square mile, and Namanve employs 44,000,’ he said. He also revealed that on January 30, 2024, he made a directive to the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Preparedness to secure 10 square miles from Kyaka I and Kyaka II settlements-five for avocado farming and processing, and five for the industrial park.
On unemployment, the NRM candidate said his government has created thousands of jobs through industrial parks, and urged Ugandans to stop viewing the government as the only employer. ‘The civil service has only about 480,000 jobs, yet the population is 50 million. People must change their mindset,’ he said. Further, Mr Museveni told residents that NRM had fulfilled its commitment to connect Kamwenge to the national tarmac network through the Lyantonde-Kazo-Ibanda road, which opened access to Kamwenge and Fort Portal. He said work on the Kyenjojo-Kihura road is ongoing, and the government will upgrade the Rwimi-Bunyangabu road next.
‘We have extended electricity, improved health facilities, and connected roads, on all these, the NRM scores over 80 percent,’ he said. Wealth creation and PDM The NRM candidate praised Kamwenge residents for embracing government poverty alleviation programmes, but warned that small land sizes cannot support profitable maize farming. ‘Even with a small piece of land, households can earn well by choosing from seven enterprises: coffee, fruits, dairy cattle, food crops, poultry or piggery, and fish,’ he advised. Kamwenge has received Shs22b under the Parish Development Model (PDM), but Museveni asked households still stuck in subsistence farming to join the money economy, and encouraged those already in commercial farming to adopt irrigation and conserve water sources.