Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security Gen Caleb Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh has distanced self from alleged land grabbing acts in Uganda, a narrative he describes as ‘unfortunate and untrue when linked to his industrious program possibly misunderstood by politicians both in the opposition and several within the ruling NRM government.’
The retired UPDF general, who is also President Museveni’s powerful brother and is attached to the Namunkekera Industrial Park – one of Uganda’s largest – in Nakaseke District, has dismissed recent remarks by opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, describing them as ‘misinformation and propaganda’ meant to confuse the public over unresolved land ownership issues.
Addressing a group of top CEOs during a meeting at Namunkekera Industrial Park on October 17, 2025, Gen Saleh said: ‘I have a dilemma because NRM does not understand me, and NUP does not understand me,’ he said.
‘If NRM understood me, they would be campaigning for me that I’m not a land grabber – instead of letting others suspect me to be one. You saw my friend Kyagulanyi recently saying that I’m a land grabber,’ he added.
‘We both owned beaches, mine at Garuga and Bobi Wine at Busabala but I sold mine in Garuga and moved to Kapeeka. In terms of land grabbing, he might even be a bigger land grabber than me,’ he said.
Bobi Wine was not immediately available for comment as he continued his electoral campaign trail.
Gen Saleh said Uganda’s political class suffers from a ‘disconnect,’ arguing that many leaders are out of touch with realities on the ground between local governments and the investment community.
He accused them of spending too little time with ‘the productive forces’ driving the economy.
‘You should spend more time with the productive forces, not with people who are paid to attend your political rallies,’ Gen Saleh said, in a veiled rebuke of politicians he accused of doing little to rally the population toward productive work or to raise awareness about ongoing government programmes.
‘Chaapa loan’
Addressing a group of CEOs, including leading bankers, retired Gen Saleh highlighted Uganda’s ongoing land challenges, linking them to delays in the Chaapa loan, land acquisition loans, and the planned land fund, which he said partly underpins unrest over land in parts of the country.
‘The Chapa loan is the most liberating tool that banks could offer the country, given the contradictions in the land governance system. We have landlords with conflicted land and citizens who lack possession,’ Gen Saleh held.
He urged private sector leaders to commit more to national development.
Earlier, Deputy NRM Secretary General Rose Namayanja Nsereko explained why the CEOs had convened under the Presidential Forum and outlined their role in the ongoing mobilization of citizens for economic progress.
Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Prof Augustus Nuwagaba and Presidential CEO Forum Chair Emmanuel Katongola presented papers on Uganda’s economic progress and the private sector’s contribution to national industrialization. ‘We are on the right track as Uganda because President Museveni has set strong pillars for the industrialization of the economy,’ Prof Nuwagaba emphasized.
The land question remains one of Uganda’s most intractable challenges. Despite repeated calls by President Museveni for adherence to the Land Act, incidents of land grabbing and forced evictions persist. The president has indicated that part of the solution will involve the roll-out of a land fund, financed by revenues from Uganda’s oil production, expected to start in 2026.