Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, on Thursday accused President Museveni’s government of neglecting Bundibugyo District by failing to establish a cocoa-processing factory for nearly four decades, despite the area being Uganda’s leading cocoa producer.
Addressing supporters in Bundibugyo District, Kyagulanyi said farmers had been forced to sell raw cocoa because the state had not invested in local processing facilities.
‘I used to come to Bundibugyo for music concerts, and about 70 percent of Uganda’s cocoa comes from this district. But there is no factory processing chocolate after 40 years,’ he said, adding: ‘If the government cared for farmers, vehicles would be coming here to pick chocolate like it is in other countries, and we would have Ugandan chocolate made in Bundibugyo.’
He claimed the government had instead chosen to locate a cocoa factory in another district, leaving Bundibugyo farmers dependent on fluctuating prices offered by middlemen.
‘Prices keep changing because the regime does not want to govern a population that is economically empowered,’ he alleged.
During his own campaign visit to Bundibugyo last week, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president since 1986, pledged to set up a cocoa-processing factory in the district if re-elected.
He said earlier delays stemmed from difficulty in securing a reliable investor, but that one had now been identified.
‘We now have a serious investor who will come and produce chocolate here. We don’t need just one factory; we need many. That is why we need more land,’ Museveni said.
On Thursday, Kyagulanyi also criticized the condition of Bundibugyo District Hospital, saying it has remained in a state of disrepair since its construction in the 1960s during Milton Obote’s presidency.
‘President Museveni was here talking about healthcare, but Bundibugyo Hospital lacks even an X-ray machine, and most facilities have no ambulances,’ he said.
The opposition leader pledged to overhaul Uganda’s healthcare system by equipping all health facilities with ambulances, ensuring oxygen supply, recruiting additional medical workers-with more doctors than nurses-and raising salaries for teachers, health workers and police officers.
Kyagulanyi said these reforms would be funded by eliminating corruption, which he claimed costs the country Shs 10 trillion annually, and by reducing the size of Parliament.
‘Uganda loses Shs 10 trillion every year. In five years, that’s Shs50 trillion. Our national road network is 26,000 kilometers, and working on all of them would cost Shs30 trillion. If we arrest those who steal public money, we can fix all our roads in three years,’ he explained.
He also faulted the government for failing to build additional international airports and for lagging behind regional countries on railway development.
He said poor infrastructure forces upcountry residents to travel long distances on deteriorating roads just to reach Entebbe International Airport.
Before arriving in Bundibugyo, the NUP leader campaigned in Ntoroko District, where he again accused the state of neglecting health facilities that lack ambulances.
He also claimed the government spends disproportionately on security operations aimed at trailing him instead of investing in essential services.
‘In the new Uganda, we shall not buy bullets; we shall buy drugs for all health facilities. The police will do its work of maintaining law and order, and we shall release all political prisoners,’ Kyagulanyi said.
Uganda votes on January 15, 2026 to decide parliament and president with incumbent Museveni in the race that could stretch his rule to nearly 50 years in power.