In Namayingo, President Museveni Urges Voters to Protect NRM Gains

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, flanked by First Lady Janet Museveni and senior National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders, addressed a large crowd in Namayingo District on Wednesday as he continued the party’s Busoga campaign tour. In an address that mixed history, development and a direct appeal for votes, Museveni urged residents to “keep the peace” and back the NRM so the government can “protect the gains” and do more in the 2026–2031 term.

President Museveni opened his remarks by tracing Namayingo’s turbulent past — recalling fighting in Muterere with Lakwena’s forces and incursions from the Kenya side that once threatened communities near Busia. He used that history to frame the present: where once there was conflict, he said, there is now a smooth tarmac road linking Musita–Mayuge–Namayingo–Lumino–Busia, a project he described as one of the region’s “big successes.” The Musita–Lumino/Busia (often referenced in reports as the Musita–Mayuge–Lumino–Majanji–Busia corridor) has been a high-profile UNRA project and was upgraded to bitumen in recent years — a transformation frequently highlighted by government communications and local press.

At the heart of Museveni’s message was a familiar trio: peace as prerequisite, visible infrastructure as proof of progress, and a call for continuity. He told Namayingo residents that peace allows “us to build and progress,” and asked them to vote NRM so the party can consolidate and expand the gains it says it has delivered. Government statements from the current campaign and contemporaneous coverage in national outlets echo that framing, as Museveni has repeatedly tied road and infrastructure projects to the case for re-election across the Busoga and greater eastern tour.

Photos and live broadcasts from the rally showed large crowds dressed in NRM colours and party paraphernalia; the First Lady’s presence reinforced the event’s prominence on the campaign calendar. Rival candidates and opposition figures have been the subject of direct criticism in some of Museveni’s Busoga speeches, part of a broader effort by the NRM to contrast its record with what the president describes as the limited achievements of opponents. Coverage of the Namayingo stop followed similar themes reported at neighbouring district rallies during the same tour.

Beyond political theatre, the Musita–Lumino–Busia road has tangible effects locally: journalists and human-interest reports over the past years have documented improved market access, shorter travel times to border crossings and boosted commerce for landing sites on Lake Victoria in Namayingo. The road’s upgrade—from gravel to bitumen—was a multi-year project handled under UNRA’s oversight and has been ceremonially referenced at several presidential events since its completion. For residents and traders who once navigated a deteriorating surface, the asphalted route remains a visible emblem of central government investment in the region.

Museveni’s plea for votes in Namayingo explicitly tied local development to his manifesto for the next term: protect peace, maintain infrastructure momentum, and expand services. Whether that messaging translates into votes will depend on how residents assess the balance between on-the-ground improvements (roads, services) and other local concerns such as livelihoods, youth employment and governance.

Political analysts note that campaigning in Busoga routinely foregrounds infrastructure because its benefits are easily showcased and felt by voters.

The Namayingo rally reinforced the central themes of the NRM campaign in eastern Uganda: anchor claims to past conflict and transformation, showcase completed and ongoing road projects as proof of delivery, and request continuity so the ruling party can expand its development agenda into the next five-year term. For voters in Namayingo, the tarmac road is both a literal and rhetorical milestone — a concrete example the campaign uses to argue that “what once was battle-scarred is now part of progress.”