Museveni: I chose ‘cantankerous’ Balaam, Nameere to shake up local govts

Kampala, Uganda: President Museveni left lawmakers in laughter during Thursday’s national budget reading after revealing the unusual reason behind his decision to appoint Balaam Barugahara and Justine Nameere to lead the Ministry of Local Government.

According to Mr Museveni, the pair were deliberately deployed to the ministry because of their reputation for being outspoken, confrontational, and unwilling to tolerate wrongdoing.

Speaking during his address at Kololo Independence Grounds, the President said he expects the duo to aggressively pursue corrupt officials and poor performers within local governments, particularly those accused of stealing funds meant for poverty alleviation programmes.

“That is why I put in people who some people say are cantankerous, like Barugahara and Nameere. Nameere is famous for quarrelling, so you go and quarrel with those people,” Museveni said, drawing laughter from Members of Parliament and invited guests.

The President’s remarks came as he criticised the theft of public funds under government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga.

Museveni said district and local government officials have failed to adequately supervise development programmes, allowing funds intended for poor households to be mismanaged or stolen.

He singled out Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), Gombolola Internal Security Officers (GISOs), local leaders and some Members of Parliament for failing to monitor government projects.

The President revealed that during the election period, he frequently received complaints from wananchi about missing PDM funds. “Instead of campaigning, people were complaining about stolen PDM money. I kept calling the former Local Government minister Raphael Magyezi to explain what was happening,” Museveni said.

He argued that stronger supervision and accountability are now needed at local government level, a task he believes Balaam and Nameere are well suited to undertake.

Museveni Defends Nameere’s Outspokenness

In a light-hearted moment, Museveni recalled defending Nameere against critics who accused her of lacking manners because of her blunt style of communication.

“When I went to Masaka to defend her, some people were saying, ‘How was that girl raised? She has no manners!’ But I said if her lack of manners will help us fight off evil…” he said as the audience erupted into laughter.

The President argued that many Ugandans fear speaking out against corruption because whistleblowers are often branded rude or disrespectful. “Here in Uganda, when you call someone a thief, they say you have bad manners. This is how you are going to destroy the country,” Museveni remarked.

MPs Put on Notice

Museveni also took aim at legislators, including opposition MPs, accusing some of neglecting their oversight responsibilities despite receiving public funds.

“What are the MPs doing? Even the opposition ones? As long as you are getting allowances from Parliament and you do not check what is happening, I will ask the Attorney General to see how to deal with you,” he said.

The President further accused some opposition politicians of deliberately allowing government programmes to fail so that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) could be blamed. “These programmes are not for the NRM; they are for your own people,” he said.