By KT Reporter
Senior officials of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) have intensified internal mobilisation efforts in Greater Mukono amid growing concern over historically low voter turnout and weak electoral performance in the sub-region.
The NRM Director for Mobilisation at the party secretariat, Rosemary Sseninde, has directed Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and District Internal Security Officers (DISOs) across Greater Mukono to take on a more active role in ensuring a strong showing for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during his upcoming campaign rallies.
Sseninde made the call while meeting district party leaders, security officials, and NRM candidates, noting that attendance at several recent presidential rallies elsewhere in the country had fallen below expectations. She attributed the shortfalls to weak grassroots mobilisation and poor coordination between party structures and security offices.
She tasked RDCs and DISOs with offering logistical support to party mobilisers, particularly by facilitating the movement of supporters to and from rally venues, while maintaining vigilance on the ground.
President Museveni is scheduled to begin his Greater Mukono campaign trail on Friday, with rallies planned in Kayunga and Mukono, before proceeding to Buvuma and Buikwe on Saturday. The visit targets districts where the President posted relatively poor results in the previous general elections.
In the 2021 polls, opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, dominated the sub-region, securing 134,591 votes against Museveni’s 48,062 in Mukono; 64,172 against 35,881 in Kayunga; 81,852 against 40,900 in Buikwe; and 13,572 votes against Museveni’s 6,814 in Buvuma.
During the current campaign season, Kyagulanyi has continued to draw large crowds in these districts, despite repeated disruptions by security agencies. His supporters have on several occasions been blocked from accessing campaign venues or subjected to violence.
At the same time, delays to his movements have been reported, actions critics argue are aimed at suppressing turnout. Against this backdrop, NRM mobilisers are under increasing pressure, amid fears that poor attendance at Museveni’s rallies could invite unfavourable comparisons. Sseninde urged party structures to intensify persuasion efforts, starting with opinion leaders and village-level cadres.
However, several NRM leaders in the region insist the party has remained active on the ground, arguing that mobilisation has focused on highlighting government achievements since the last election.
Ronald Kibuule, the NRM candidate for Mukono North, says the party is fully prepared to receive the President, citing major infrastructure and service delivery projects as key campaign selling points.
These include upgrades to health facilities, the construction of the Katosi Water Treatment Project, the largest in East Africa, which serves the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, and the expansion of Namanve and Mbalala industrial parks, collectively creating over 500,000 jobs.
In Kayunga, district NRM chairperson Moses Kalangwa says residents are increasingly appreciating government investments, including the construction and equipping of a regional referral hospital and improvements in road infrastructure. He adds that the party is now more united and focused on winning elective positions at all levels, from the presidency down to local government.
Meanwhile, Mukono District NRM chairperson Haruna Ssemakula points to road works under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP) and ongoing industrialisation as tangible signs of progress.
In Buvuma, however, party leaders strike a more cautious tone. Despite the introduction of a new ferry service and the promotion of oil palm growing, district NRM chairperson Fred Wandera says residents continue to face challenges linked to limited access to Lake Victoria and inadequate funding for government programmes. factors he believes still dampen political support.
As President Museveni returns to a sub-region that has increasingly tilted towards the opposition, the effectiveness of the renewed mobilisation drive and the response from voters may offer an early indication of how competitive the ruling party will be in these traditionally difficult districts.
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