Butambala, Uganda: The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, has urged residents of Butambala District to deliver at least 70 percent of the vote to the ruling National Resistance Movement as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni resumed his campaign trail in the area.
Addressing a charged crowd at a rally held at Nkokoma Primary school in Bulo Sub-County on Monday, Maama Janet framed the vote as a choice between stability and division.
“I am requesting for 70 percent of the vote,” she told supporters. “Remember that the numbers that have come here for the rally should be the same numbers that go to vote when the time comes. If you vote for NRM, you are voting for unity, peace and stability. When you vote for the opposition, you vote for disunity and conflict.”
She pointed to Uganda’s relative calm compared to neighbouring countries grappling with conflict, noting that instability elsewhere has forced thousands of refugees to seek safety in Uganda. “We want your children to find this solidarity when they grow up. When we become disunited, we cannot protect our development.”
President Museveni, speaking at the same rally, highlighted what he described as the NRM’s achievements over the last four decades, citing peace, development, wealth creation and job opportunities as the foundation of his government’s record.
“This peace has come because the NRM does not encourage or support politics of sectarianism,” Museveni said, adding that government programmes have expanded access to essential services.
“All sub-counties now have electricity and 82 percent of the population has access to safe water,” he said. “Those who listened to us have made progress by concentrating on private businesses and commercial farming. Even if you have a small piece of land, you can rear goats, chicken, pigs, or do fish farming. Government has jobs, but most jobs are in the private sector.”
NRM Vice Chairperson Moses Kigongo called on party leaders to remain disciplined and focused on national interests rather than personal gain.
“What has brought us here is to request for the votes. Let us be well-disciplined,” Kigongo said. “The opposition wants to destabilise our peace. Leaders should be truthful; what you say is what you should deliver. Let us think about our country first before individualistic gains.”
Speaker of Parliament and NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female) Anita Annet Among praised Museveni for encouraging leaders to invest in their constituencies, while taking aim at opposition politicians whom she accused of neglecting their communities.
“Even when you are in opposition, when you lose your seat in Parliament, you will come back to Butambala,” Among said. “If you are a leader, you should have a home where you come from.”
She accused the area’s opposition MP of failing to develop the constituency and of allegedly mobilising people for post-election street protests. “The money we are putting in the budget is for developing the youth,” Among said.
The Butambala rally forms part of an intensified NRM campaign drive across central Uganda ahead of the January 15 elections, with party leaders urging supporters to translate rally attendance into votes on polling day.
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