Kampala, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has declared that the 2026-2031 term will be a Kisanja of “No More Sleep and No More Corruption” urging Ugandans to wake up and join the wealth creation bus driving through to the money economy.
In his inauguration speech after taking oath for the 2026–2031 term at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Tuesday, Mr Museveni, 81, said the new phase of leadership will focus on wealth creation, value addition, job creation and fighting corruption, urging Ugandans to actively participate in transforming the country’s economy.
“We are now entering a Kisanja of no more sleeping. We are entering a Kisanja of no more corruption,” Museveni declared in his closing remarks.
The President said Uganda had already laid what he described as the “seven bricks” of national transformation under the NRM government, including peace, infrastructure, wealth creation, jobs, service delivery and market expansion through East African and African integration.
In his regional address to the East African citizens, Mr Museveni credited Tanzania’s founding President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and regional allies including Mozambique and Kenya for supporting Uganda’s liberation struggle and helping build the UPDF.
“As we celebrate Uganda’s development and the strength of the UPDF, we must remember that the foundation was laid by Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere,” Museveni said.
He revealed that fighters he trained in Mozambique between 1976 and 1978 later became instrumental in building the modern UPDF.
The President also used part of his inauguration speech to showcase testimonies of wealth creators benefiting from commercial agriculture and industrialisation, citing poultry farmer Ijala Joseph from Serere, whom he said was earning over Shs6 million daily from egg sales alone.
“That is a job creator,” Museveni said as giant screens displayed some of the beneficiaries of government wealth creation programmes.
He also pointed to industrial parks employing thousands of youth and highlighted sectors such as commercial agriculture, manufacturing, ICT and services as key drivers for both low-skilled and high-skilled jobs.
In defence of Uganda’s push for value addition, Museveni lashed out at African countries for exporting raw materials without processing them. “This is a strategic blunder,” he said while illustrating how processed gold generates significantly more income than raw exports.
The President reiterated Uganda’s commitment to banning export of unprocessed minerals and promoting local industrialisation.
On regional integration, Museveni said Africa’s prosperity depended on building larger markets capable of absorbing locally manufactured products, praising the East African Community, COMESA and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“You cannot talk about development without a market. We must unite East Africa and Africa,” he said.
Speaking at the same function, Burundi President who is also the African Union Chairperson, H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye hailed Museveni as an elder statesman whose leadership had contributed significantly to regional peace and stability.
“Your re-election stands as a powerful affirmation of the peace, stability and institutional continuity that Uganda has cultivated over the years,” Ndayishimiye said.
The Burundian leader credited Museveni for supporting reconciliation and peace efforts across the region, saying Uganda had emerged as one of Africa’s promising economies under his leadership.
The inauguration ceremony drew several regional leaders, foreign dignitaries, government officials and supporters from across Uganda as Museveni officially began another five-year term at the helm of the country’s presidency.
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