Former Arrow Boys fighters from Teso have endorsed the 2031 presidential bid of First Son and Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, pledging to mobilise supporters across the region to append signatures backing his candidature.
The endorsement was announced at the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) offices in Nakasero, Kampala, where former Minister of State for Works Musa Echweru appeared alongside former commanders and members of the Arrow Boys, a local defence group that fought alongside the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Teso.
Echweru said the former fighters regard Gen. Muhoozi as a symbol of peace, development and the fight against corruption, which he said informed their decision to support his presidential ambitions. He said the group would now embark on a peaceful mobilisation exercise across Teso to collect signatures in support of Muhoozi.
“We are now going to comb the villages, this time peacefully, to make sure that people append their signatures to endorse this patriotic leader,” Echweru said. He said his association with Gen. Muhoozi dates back to 2003, when the LRA, led by Joseph Kony, invaded Teso on June 15.
Echweru said he abandoned his assignment as Resident District Commissioner in Kasese and returned to Teso, where he advised the government to mobilise young people, including former combatants from different armed groups, to support the UPDF in fighting the LRA.
According to Echweru, the mobilisation resulted in the formation of the Arrow Boys, whose membership eventually grew to 9,014 fighters. He cited the battle at Apopong in Teso as one of the decisive engagements in the campaign against the LRA, claiming that 32 LRA commanders were killed during the fighting. Echweru said Gen. Muhoozi, who was a Major at the time, chose to operate from the frontline in Teso rather than command operations from Kampala.
He said Muhoozi survived several ambushes, including one at Atira in which one of his soldiers was injured, despite reports at the time that the military officer had been killed. Echweru also recalled that President Yoweri Museveni relocated to Soroti during the campaign and established the city as a tactical headquarters from which he directed military operations against the LRA.He said Gen. Muhoozi remained with troops in the field as they pursued LRA fighters, adding that the insurgency was eventually defeated in Teso, with 52 senior LRA commanders killed.
Echweru said the former Arrow Boys fighters now want to support Muhoozi’s political ambitions through peaceful mobilisation, calling for continuity, peace, national transformation and concerted efforts to fight corruption. At the same event, Kasambya North MP David Kabanda, who heads the PLU offices in Nakasero, commended Echweru for what he described as his patriotism and sacrifice during the LRA insurgency.
Kabanda said Echweru demonstrated commitment to his community by abandoning his assignment in Kasese and returning to Teso when the region came under attack. He said the endorsement campaign was intended to demonstrate that support for Muhoozi’s presidential ambitions was coming from Ugandans themselves and was not an attempt by President Museveni to impose his son on the country.
Kabanda said the campaign aims to collect 20 million signatures in support of Muhoozi’s endorsement, with registration to be conducted at village and sub-county levels before verification. He said photographs and other details would also be collected to strengthen the register and guard against fraudulent primary elections, which he alleged had occurred during some National Resistance Movement (NRM) elections.
Kabanda also appealed to NRM members to participate in the exercise and demonstrate solidarity with Muhoozi. He said public functions organised for Muhoozi in different parts of the country had previously attracted large crowds, citing Teso as one of the areas where he claimed turnout had been particularly strong. Kabanda handed registration materials to Echweru and tasked him with coordinating the mobilisation and registration exercise across the Teso sub-region.
Meanwhile, PLU, which describes itself as a civic pressure group, has started distributing nomination and support books to villages as part of the wider campaign to collect signatures from people supporting Gen. Muhoozi’s presidential bid. The exercise was launched by Kabanda at the National Chairman’s Office in Nakasero, with the first phase covering Kampala District.
The books were handed over to the Minister for Kampala, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, who said mobilisation in Kampala would begin immediately before extending to other parts of Buganda. She said the exercise would not stop in Kampala but would be expanded across Buganda to mobilise support for Gen. Muhoozi.
The organisers say they intend to collect 20 million signatures from supporters across the country before compiling and presenting the records to Muhoozi. The endorsement drive is part of a wider political mobilisation by Muhoozi’s supporters ahead of his planned presidential bid. Thousands of people have also been visiting PLU offices to append their signatures in the books endorsing the serving army officer, who is legally barred from participating in partisan politics while serving in the military.
The activity at the PLU offices has created a visibly charged political atmosphere, with a steady flow of supporters arriving to register their endorsement-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
