Wakiso, Uganda: President Yoweri Museveni has reinvented political engagement in Uganda through a series of deeply personal, unscripted walkabouts in Wakiso District, turning his Parish Development Model (PDM) tour into a masterclass in grassroots connection.
At 80, Museveni is proving critics wrong by shunning political rallies for village visits, kneeling beside farmers, laughing with schoolchildren, and bantering with youth at brick-making sites. These up-close encounters, captured in viral videos and widely shared by UBC TV, GCIC, and local influencers, present a rejuvenated statesman tuning in directly to the pulse of ordinary Ugandans.
“This is what PDM is about, empowering you to grow!” Museveni told Sarah Nakimuli, a young farmer in Nansana whose UGX 1 million PDM grant transformed her garden into a flourishing maize and bean plantation.
The President pledged to buy her a water pump, igniting waves of praise across social media.
Clips of this moment on X drew responses like, “M7 is in the dirt with us! #PDMChangingLives”, reflecting a growing sentiment that the President is not just preaching transformation, he’s walking it.
In Kasangati, Museveni stopped by at a brick-making site and quipped: “How many bricks do you make a day?” before pledging a manual brick press to boost their output. Shared by @GCICUganda, this encounter showed a leader energized by interaction, not protocol. “He’s 80 but moves like a young man,” one X user wrote. “Meeting us where we work!”
These visits, observers say, allow Museveni to expose gaps in PDM implementation and demand direct accountability from local leaders, on record, in real time. His remarks often carry an urgent tone, reminding leaders that “this money is yours, defend it from thieves,” as he told residents in Kaazi village, Busabala Parish.
“I visited Ms. Lillian Nagawa, a PDM beneficiary who started in piggery and now runs poultry and goat enterprises. I was impressed with the urban uptake in Makindye Ssabagabo,” Museveni shared with his 3 million followers on his official X platform.
“We shall increase the amount disbursed to these urban PDM parishes,” he added, calling on beneficiaries to guard their funds from exploiters.
In Namusera, the President laughed with schoolchildren and pledged books and a borehole. “Who wants to be a doctor?” he asked, drawing dozens of eager hands in a viral video reposted by @ubctvuganda. “M7 is inspiring our kids! #WhyUgStillNeedsM7,” wrote one X user.
Wakiso, home to more than 3.4 million Ugandans, has become a strategic symbol of Museveni’s leadership transformation. The walkabouts, now dubbed “Museveni’s village therapy” by supporters, are seen as resetting the tone of his presidency from distant authority to direct empathy.
Critics like Andrew Mwenda argue that the President’s approach is a clever pre-2026 ploy to tie cash handouts to votes. But even skeptics agree: Museveni’s physical presence in backyards, classrooms, and farms has dramatically reshaped his public image, one homestead at a time.
These “walks of leadership” are more than campaign optics. They signal a return to retail politics in its rawest form: no stage, no convoy, just citizen and president, face-to-face.
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