Leaders in Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts have identified land wrangles as the top issue they want the National Resistance Movement presidential candidate, Yoweri Museveni, to address ahead of his campaign rallies in the area.
President Museveni is scheduled to hold rallies on Tuesday, December 30, at Butalangu Town Council in Nakaseke District and Wabinyonyi Sub-county in Nakasongola District.
According to Rose Namayanja Nsereko, the NRM Deputy Secretary General, mobilisation of supporters is in high gear as party leaders seek to demonstrate that the two districts remain firm strongholds of the ruling party.
Nakaseke and Nakasongola were the epicentre of the National Resistance Army (NRA) war between 1981 and 1986 and have traditionally been loyal to the NRM. However, in recent years, the party’s popularity in the area has steadily declined.
During the 2021 general elections, President Museveni recorded his lowest performance in Nakaseke District, winning with 38,009 votes (53.1 per cent) against his main challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi, who garnered 32,063 votes (45.1 per cent).
The NRM also lost the Nakaseke South and Nakaseke Central parliamentary seats to the opposition. In Nakasongola District, Museveni’s support dropped to 65 per cent, down from 84.46 per cent in 2016, while Kyagulanyi secured 33 per cent of the total votes cast.
Namayanja, however, says the NRM government has since corrected past mistakes and implemented interventions aimed at improving livelihoods in the two districts ahead of the 2026 general elections. She cited expanded access to education, noting that government primary schools have increased to 258, while government secondary schools now stand at 23, up from fewer than 30 schools across the entire Greater Luwero region before 1986.
She also said government health infrastructure has significantly improved, with 48 health facilities now operational, compared to fewer than five before the NRM came to power.
Under the Parish Development Model (PDM), Namayanja said the government has injected 38 billion Shillings into Nakaseke and Nakasongola by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year to support household income generation.
She further highlighted ongoing road upgrades, including the Matugga-Semuto and Kiwoko-Butalangu roads, which are expected to ease the transportation of agricultural produce and improve service delivery.
Despite these developments, NRM leaders in both districts say land disputes remain the biggest challenge undermining the party’s popularity and are urging President Museveni to provide a lasting solution.
Rogers Kulaba Ssemanda, the NRM candidate for the Nakasongola District Chair, says many residents occupy land owned by absentee landlords and have faced repeated evictions, leaving families landless. Kulaba says leaders want the President to announce a land fund that would enable the government to buy land from absentee landlords and allocate it to the current occupants.
He also revealed that hundreds of residents occupying 7,413 acres in Kalungi and Kalongo sub-counties and Kazwama Town Council are living in fear following plans to establish a nuclear power plant under Uganda’s Nuclear Power Programme. Kulaba says residents are appealing to President Museveni to halt the project to prevent mass evictions.
Meanwhile, Prof. Wilber Ahebwa, the NRM flag bearer for Nakaseke North Member of Parliament, states that many residents in his constituency reside within forest reserve land and face imminent eviction by the National Forestry Authority (NFA). Ahebwa says residents are waiting for Museveni to announce plans to degazette part of the forest reserve to accommodate the growing population.
In other parts of Nakaseke, residents in Nakaseke, Kapeeka, Semuto, Kito, and Wakyato sub-counties continue to grapple with land-grabbing cases. Similarly, land conflicts remain widespread in Lwabiyata, Wabinyonyi, Nakitoma, and Kakooge in Nakasongola District.
As President Museveni heads to the region for his rallies, it remains to be seen whether he will directly address the land question, an issue many leaders believe will be decisive in rebuilding NRM support ahead of the 2026 elections.
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