The deputy secretary general of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Rose Namayanja, has insisted that party-leaning independent candidates vying for different electoral positions ahead of the 2026 general election must withdraw from the race and support flag bearers to enable the party emerge victorious.
Namayanja made this directive while addressing NRM leaders and supporters in Nakawa Division on Wednesday, saying independents should sacrifice and step aside for the party’s sake.
“We have to make sacrifices to strengthen our party. Emulate others. The independent candidate for Makindye West constituency agreed to step down. It is never too late for others to follow the same path,” she advised amidst thunderous applause.
Tensions are rising in areas where independent candidates are competing with party flag bearers, and Namayanja urged supporters to forgive each other and unite to grab Kampala from opposition parties.
“If the flag bearer loses, the independent candidate will equally be considered a loser,” she warned.
Namayanja emphasised the party’s resolve to collaborate with lower party structures to mobilise votes for NRM candidates and liberate Kampala from opposition.
“We have barely two months to the finishing line, and we want to tap into the untapped potentials of these structures,” she said.
“We want them to move parish to parish, village per village, door to door, apartment to apartment, compound to compound, individual to individual. We are going around the five divisions to tell our people what to do. We have what it takes to liberate the whole of Kampala from the opposition,” Namayanja added.
She expressed confidence in NRM’s victory, saying, “The votes are not at the NRM Secretariat, they are not in sub-counties, they are in villages. If President Museveni and Salim Uhuru can win, all the flag bearers can. The writing on the wall is very clear that victory for NRM is certain.”
Namayanja also assured NRM members that opposition parties are no longer a threat, noting that some have joined the ruling party.
“The First Lady of UPC is a minister in NRM government. For DP, we carried the hoe and put it in the bus. We left them with a pole, they can feel free to fix it with an axe. Others are divided,” she said.
State House Comptroller Jane Barekye tasked area leadership to ensure households benefit from the Parish Development model (PDM) and Skilling programmes to get out of poverty.