Manafwa, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Thursday recounted emotional moments on how he narrowly survived death in 1973 when soldiers of the late dictator Idi Amin Dada surrounded the house where he and his comrades were hiding, an incident that left two of his colleagues dead.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Manafwa District, Museveni narrated how he found himself trapped between two groups: Amin’s soldiers chasing him from behind and locals mistaking him for a thief ahead.
“I jumped over a fence and started running. The soldiers were firing bullets at me, but they missed. Then I saw another group, led by a young man called Charles Walimbwa, trying to block me, thinking I was a criminal,” Museveni said.
Caught between the two groups, Museveni said he sought cover in a eucalyptus forest before turning his gun on his pursuers. “I stopped and fired at the soldiers. Everyone ran away; both the soldiers and Walimbwa’s group. Later, I learned that two of them were killed,” he said.
The President said he later met Walimbwa, who now serves as the NRM chairperson in Manafwa. “Now I see Walimbwa here; very good, very good,” Museveni added, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Museveni was in Manafwa to present the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto for the 2026–2031 period, which he said focuses on consolidating peace, expanding infrastructure, and improving social services such as education, health, water, and electricity.
He said the NRM’s record since 1986 could be summed up in seven “Etofali” — symbolic building blocks representing peace, unity, development, and service delivery. “The first Etofali is peace. It was not easy, but it came because we rejected tribalism and sectarianism and valued every Ugandan,” he said.
The President highlighted that in Manafwa District, 96% of the villages now have access to safe water, while government continues to upgrade health centres and schools to improve service delivery. He further reiterated his commitment to wealth creation and job opportunities, pointing to the four-acre model as a sustainable pathway for rural households to achieve economic independence.
“Wealth creation and jobs remain our focus through programmes like the four-acre model. We must continue building prosperity for all Ugandans,” the President stressed.
Museveni’s rally in Manafwa marked another stop in his ongoing campaign trail across the eastern region, where he has been reinforcing his message of continuity, peace, and transformation under the NRM.
The President will later today address another rally at Nabbonga Grounds in Bulambuli as he continues to extend the NRM gospel of protecting the gains across the country to seek reelection for the 7th term in charge of Uganda’s presidency.
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