The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, Yoweri Museveni, has encouraged families of the bush war veterans to support the NRA/M revolution born and nurtured from the Greater Luweero areas as the country prepares for the 2026 General Election.
While addressing the NRM supporters at two separate rallies in Kyankwanzi and Kiboga districts on December 16, 2025, Mr Museveni, 81, said the mammoth gatherings that braved the heavy rains to turn up to listen to his message was a clear sign that the war veterans families are ready to protect the peace and gains ushered in by the NRM government that cannot be thrown away in an election.
‘When the NRM government came to power, the first major contribution was peace. I thank the people of Kyankwanzi for turning up in big numbers despite the heavy rains. You have shown the world that when you decide to do something, you do it wholeheartedly,’ he said while addressing his first rally at Butemba Sub-county in Kyankwanzi District on December 16, 2025.
According to the president, from the 1966 crisis, when Obote fought Kabaka Mutesa, the 1971 fighting between Milton Obote and Idi Amin, the 1979 wars and the 1981-1986 liberation war, the country experienced turmoil. The people only tested peace after the NRM government captured power.
‘The country has, for the last 40 years, experienced peace that cannot be destabilized. The neighbouring countries admire the peace in Uganda. We should work to protect this peace as one people,’ said Mr Museveni who is seeking to extend his rule to 2031.
According to him, one of the key pillars for the current peace is because of his party’s ideology, through which members have been urged to reject sectarianism and politics of identity, which partly contributed to the earlier instability in the country.
For the people of Kyankwanzi, it is very easy to audit what the NRM government has done in the last 40 years. When the NRM government came to power in 1986, there was no tarmac throughout Kyankwanzi District. The tarmac ended at Busunju- Kampala, with the rest of the road in poor condition. The people of Kyankwanzi now boast of good roads and other infrastructure. The tarmac now cuts through Busunju, Kiboga, Hoima, and Buliisa to Lake Albert.
Because the people should be able to live good lives, the NRM government ensured that these areas have electricity.
‘Our plan was to first extend electricity to the Sub-county headquarters but we now have the power beyond the Sub-county headquarters. It is true that in some villages, the power lines have not reached but we are certain that power will get to all these areas,’ he said.
Out of the 486 villages in Kyankwanzi District, 420 have access to safe water, representing 84% water coverage.
‘In the next term, the remaining villages will access clean water,’ he said.
Mr Museveni rallied Kyankwanzi and Kiboga residents to embrace the government-led wealth creation programmes to ensure that each family has side income activities that support the family welfare while generating additional income for better livelihoods. The Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga are largely aimed at engineering wealth creation for better livelihoods.
‘When you look at other countries, they construct schools, roads and health facilities and end at that. It is the NRM government in Uganda that has gone a step further to ensure that individuals generate their own wealth for better livelihoods. When individual wealth comes together, the Country benefits which partly explains the ongoing success in the coffee industry. Uganda now produces 10 million bags of coffee compared to the 3 million bags in 1986,’ Mr Museveni said.
The second national vice chairperson of the NRM party, Moses Kigongo and Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, earlier told President Museveni that Kyankwanzi is among the areas with many absentee landlords, with a bigger section of the residents experiencing land-related disputes. She commended the President for championing the land purchase programme through the land fund, which will ensure that people in Kyankwanzi benefit. Ms Among revealed that some of the residents are settled on land claimed by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) and face eviction.
While on his different campaign trails, President Museveni has said that the land disputes in many areas where absentee landlords are settled will be resolved through the land fund. ‘Government will buy land from the landlords,’ he said while addressing supporters in Mubende District on December 15, 2025.
Earlier a section of residents and NRM supporters at Butemba Sub-county revealed that while they support the NRM government because of the peace and wealth creation programmes, senior officials within the same government are evicting and grabbing land from the less privileged residents.
Ms Elizabeth Tushabe, a resident of Butemba Town Council, claimed that many land grabbers hide in the name of big offices such as State House to evict the poor from their respective Bibanja.
‘We want the president to help the poor Bibanja holders to safely utilize the land without any evictions. Many people, including those working in government offices use the army and police to intimidate the poor and take away their land. The powerful people have the ability to bribe all government offices, including courts of law,’ she said.
Kyankwanzi and Kiboga districts are part of the cattle corridor areas that register high illegal evictions and land grabbing cases. In Kyankwanzi District, the Sub-county of Butemba is among the areas affected by the land related disputes.
The 2024 National Housing and Population Census puts the population for Kyankwanzi District at 275,432 while the Electoral Commission updated register for Kyankwanzi District puts the number of registered voters at 133,173 voters. In 2021, Mr Museveni got 39,859 votes (60.99%) while the leading opposition candidate, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu got 31,842 votes (37.53%).