By KT Reporter
Kololo Ceremonial Grounds has transformed into a vast ocean of yellow as President Yoweri Museveni’s nomination for a seventh term ignited a day-long political spectacle that blended pomp, tight security, and unrelenting party zeal.
From the crack of dawn, convoys of buses, security vehicles, taxis, and throngs of foot soldiers and National Resistance Movement (NRM) supporters streamed toward Kololo airstrip, setting the stage for a show of force and loyalty as their candidate headed to Lubowa for Nominations.
Security patrols and police vans fanned out across the suburbs of Bwaise, Katooke, and Nansana, picking up cheering NRM supporters en route to Kololo. At the Entebbe Expressway, taxis stuffed with yellow-clad faithful joined the procession, traversing the Northern Bypass from Kajjansi and Entebbe.
URN reporters counted heavy deployments at key choke points: Bwaise Flyover, Namungoona, Kawaala, Makerere Kavule, Mulago traffic lights, and Lugogo. The Special Forces Command (SFC), Field Force Unit, Military Police, and plainclothes operatives worked side-by-side with traffic police to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and clear passage for the enthusiastic supporters.
At the National Unity Platform (NUP) offices in Makerere-Kavule, a small group of jubilant NRM supporters attempted to breach the compound, but police and soldiers intervened quickly, escorting them away before confrontation could ignite.
“We’re not idle,” declared Eric Kibuuka, councillor for Makerere II, leading a crowd at Bwaise Roundabout. “Our love for President Museveni brought us out early today to wait and maybe catch a glimpse of him to say hello after his nomination.”
Nearby, 70-year-old Bosco Mugerwa said Museveni was a freedom fighter who transformed Uganda from a war zone to a peaceful nation. We’ve enjoyed nearly 40 years of peace, and that’s what I love most about Museveni,” he said. Others called on the president to sharpen his fight against corruption and create jobs for Uganda’s restless youth.
While the NRM painted the city yellow, the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) infused the day’s activities with youthful electricity. From their Naguru base, thousands of PLU supporters, most of them teenagers and young adults, marched to Kololo behind the rhythmic thunder of Kadodi drums. They held placards and banners, inscribed with the face of PLU founder Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his father, President Museveni.
Leading the procession were Museveni’s brother, Michael Nuwagira, popularly known as Toyota, and PLU Mobilisation Director Michael Mawanda. “This is more than a walk; it’s a pledge of solidarity,” Mawanda proclaimed, as the crowd chanted in unison.
Traffic along Lugogo Bypass slowed to a crawl as motorists honked in time with the chants, and onlookers cheered. Police and military personnel formed a discreet outer cordon along Impala Avenue, where SFC soldiers stood as the final ring of the president’s security detail.
The march came just days after PLU and NRM signed a memorandum of understanding under the banner “Tuko Pamoja” (We Are Together), a pact that fuses PLU’s youth-driven energy with the NRM’s established political machinery.
Along Entebbe Road, groups of boda boda riders, NRM stalwarts, and the Bavandimwe, Ugandans of Rwandan descent, lined the highway to salute the president’s convoy.
Steven Kagaba, the coordinator for the Bavandimwe informal sector, said his community came to thank Museveni for addressing their long-running struggles over national identification documents. “The Bavandimwe will be voting for President Museveni,” Kagaba vowed.
//Cue out; gone everywhere…
Cue in…is our hero.”//
At Kololo itself, the air was thick with music, drumming, and the smell of roadside snacks as cultural troupes such as Sanyu Cultural and Ani Yali Amanyi from Busabala entertained the swelling crowds. Businesses around Lweza closed early, except those hawking soft drinks and snacks to the tens of thousands gathered.
Museveni, who secured 58.64 per cent of the vote in the 2021 elections against Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s 34.83 per cent, now seeks to extend his tenure to a remarkable 45 years. His nomination rally comes off as a choreographed show of dominance, one part celebration, one part a message that the NRM remains a formidable political machine.
-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
