Pallisa, Uganda: The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has pledged to compensate Ugandans who lost cattle during past insurgencies and to create 10 million jobs if elected president.
Bobi Wine made the promises on Tuesday while addressing supporters at Kalaki Church of Uganda Primary School in Pallisa Town Council, during his campaign tour of the Bukedi sub-region.
He accused the NRM government of using past insecurity as a political narrative while failing to address the economic losses suffered by communities, particularly cattle rustling that devastated livelihoods in eastern and northern Uganda.
“All people who lost their cattle will be compensated. Government must stop singing about insurgency and start restoring what was lost,” Kyagulanyi said.
He blamed Uganda’s slow development on what he described as four decades of poor leadership, arguing that shorter administrations under Milton Obote and Idi Amin delivered infrastructure and institutions whose impact is still visible today.
Kyagulanyi promised to revive traditional cash crops such as cotton and tobacco, saying fair pricing would enable families to afford basic needs and restore household incomes in regions like Pallisa.
The opposition leader said his government would promote inclusivity and equitable sharing of national resources, rejecting what he described as nepotism and concentration of power within one family.
“I will not concentrate key government positions within my family like Museveni, who appointed his son as Chief of Defence Forces and his wife as Minister of Education,” Kyagulanyi said.
He pledged to improve livelihoods through state-led industrialisation, promising to establish government-owned factories to create employment for young people.
“We shall create jobs for our people, not bring foreigners who pay Ugandans Shs3,000 a day. Uganda is being treated like a personal asset,” he said.
Kyagulanyi also criticised the spread of money lenders in rural communities, accusing the current leadership of enabling economic exploitation that has left many Ugandans trapped in debt.
On health service delivery, he expressed concern over the poor state of Pallisa General Hospital, following concerns raised by Jane Abbo, the NUP Woman MP candidate, who said the facility has lacked functional X-ray and ultrasound machines for over five years.
Kyagulanyi said it was unacceptable for government to prioritise procurement of military hardware over basic health services, including ambulances, for communities.
Local supporters welcomed the message. Rogers Opio, a resident of Rweta in Pallisa Town Council, said Kyagulanyi’s address had energised young voters, whom he described as the key decision-makers in the upcoming elections.
Another supporter, Denis Mudenya, said peaceful campaigns were possible if security agencies respected Electoral Commission schedules, arguing that heavy security deployments only raise public questions and sympathy for the opposition.
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