Inside Busoga’s Gains Protection Wishlist for Museveni as Kadaga Launches Regional Campaigns

First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga interacts with NRM members during the Busoga grassroots mobilization launch at Century Hotels, Kyando, Mayuge District.

Mayuge, Uganda: The First Deputy Prime Minister and NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female), Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, has officially launched grassroots mobilization for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s 2025–2026 campaign in Busoga Region, rallying the Basoga to “protect their gains” and focus on securing tangible development commitments as the President prepares to hit the campaign trail.

The mobilization launch took place on Friday, November 8, 2025, at Century Hotels in Kyando, Mayuge District, setting the tone ahead of President Museveni’s Busoga campaign tour, which kicks off in Busia District on November 15 and climaxes in Jinja City on November 21.

According to the preliminary itinerary, the President is expected to visit Kadaga’s home district on November 20, where he will hold a public rally in Namasagali and commission the new Bio-Pharma Industrial Park, a flagship project that will use local cassava as raw material to boost industrialization and job creation in the region.

“For three decades I have been pushing for the tarmacking of the 150km Jinja–Amber Court–Mbulamuti–Bukungu Highway to open up Busoga’s economic corridor,” Kadaga said. “With the Nuclear Plant, the Mineral Belt, and industrial expansion, what Busoga needs now is connectivity — roads that deliver opportunity.”

Kadaga: ‘Forget the Past, Focus on the Future’

In her address, Kadaga urged Busoga leaders and NRM supporters to move past internal party divisions, referencing her fallout during the 2021 CEC elections, and instead focus on unity and development.

“The humiliation we endured in CEC should not derail us,” Kadaga told the gathering. “Let us focus on how to work with the parent party to ensure Busoga retains bargaining power and development funding.”

She emphasized that the upcoming campaign should not be about rhetoric but about accountability and fulfilment of presidential pledges that have long remained on paper.

Kadaga’s remarks were echoed by local leaders who expressed growing frustration over unmet pledges and stalled infrastructure projects in Busoga.

Chrisostom Chris Wabwire, a former Mbulamuti councillor and NRM cadre now affiliated with NUP, criticized the government for what he described as “recycled promises and political deception.”

“Every election season, the President returns to Busoga to recycle project launches and blame technocrats. Yet roads like Iganga–Kamuli and Amber Court–Bukungu have not moved beyond commissioning,” Wabwire said. “There seems to be a syndicate of organized corruption where funds disappear before reaching the ground.”

NRM supporters during the Busoga mobilization launch in Mayuge District.

Similarly, Buyende District LCV Chairperson Michael Kanaku lamented that many of the President’s pledges have become “unfunded priorities,” complicating district planning. “We love and support the NRM, but the pledges have become bait — promises that resurrect only during campaign season,” Kanaku said.

The Busoga’s Wishlist for the President

As Museveni prepares to return to Busoga, leaders and opinion heads have drawn up a “Gains Protection Wishlist” — a set of long-standing pledges and development priorities they hope the President will address this time round.

Top Infrastructure and Economic Priorities include; the tarmacking of key economic corridors: Jinja–Amber Court–Mbulamuti–Bukungu, Iganga–Kamuli via Luuka, Iganga–Mayuge–Bwondha, and Kamuli–Kaliro–Pallisa roads, completion of Budhumbula–Namasagali Road, to enhance transport connectivity to the Bio-Pharma Industrial Park and Namasagali Marine University, and operationalization of the Bukungu–Kaberamaido Ferry to ease transport and trade across Lake Kyoga.

The leaders also demand for the revitalization of Kasolwe and Kiige Agricultural Research Centers to strengthen food security and support the Four-Acre Model and establishment of promised factories: A sugar factory in Luuka and a cassava processing plant in Namutumba or Bugiri to empower local farmers and create jobs.

On Health, Education, and Energy, Busoga Kingdom Premier Dr. Joseph Muvawala emphasized the urgent need to rehabilitate the Kamuli power line to stabilize energy supply for the Kiira Motors Plant and other industries.

He also stressed the importance of upgrading the regional health and education systems to match the region’s industrial ambitions. “Rehabilitating Kamuli’s powerline and expanding rural electrification will be a lasting gain for Busoga’s transformation,” Muvawala said.

Mood in Ahead of Museveni’s Visit

With just days to Museveni’s campaign, the political mood in Busoga is mixed, a blend of hope, skepticism, and renewed expectation. While the NRM’s traditional support base remains strong, many locals are openly demanding delivery over promises.

Kadaga’s call for reconciliation and results-oriented politics has reignited optimism that Busoga’s long-delayed projects could finally take off if political unity is restored. “This time it’s not business as usual,” a local leader in Kamuli said. “The people of Busoga are ready to listen, but they also want to see.”