By Our Reporter
In a thunderous rally that echoed across Kalagala Village’s St. Cornelius Playground, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni issued a stern nationwide call: Uganda’s hard-won peace must not be taken for granted. The President declared an era of heightened vigilance, community-police synergy, and zero tolerance for violent crime, saying, “Disorganization emboldens criminals — that ends now.”
Addressing a massive crowd in Buikwe District, Museveni reminded the nation that Uganda’s peace was not a gift but a product of bloody struggle and discipline. “We didn’t win peace by chance. In the 1980s, we built a powerful army. Today, peace must be defended by organized communities,” the President thundered.
Toll-Free Police Lines, No Bonds for Violent Criminals
Citing harrowing cases, Museveni painted a vivid picture of how coordination — or lack thereof — can mean the difference between life and death. He recounted a grisly murder of five in Masaka where a woman called her husband instead of the police. In contrast, a vigilant nurse in Lukaya survived a similar attack by immediately alerting authorities, leading to arrests in distant Ntungamo.
“From now on, every home must have toll-free police numbers. Violent criminals will no longer be given police bonds,” Museveni declared to roaring applause, announcing new protocols meant to empower communities and close loopholes exploited by criminals.
Revisiting the chilling 2021 Masaka machete murders (locally known as Ebijambiya), Museveni credited the takedown of the killers to unprecedented collaboration between police, canine units, and vigilant citizens. “That model saved lives. It must be rolled out across Uganda,” he asserted.
The President outlined a multi-layered security upgrade involving CCTV cameras, digital number plates, and more deployment of police dogs. Yet, he emphasized, “Technology means nothing without community vigilance.”
Turning to economic issues, Museveni warned that infrastructure is not a silver bullet for poverty. “In 1965, Mbarara-Soroti road was tarmacked. Today it’s even better. Yet some along it are still poor. Wealth is personal — built through calculated effort,” he said.
He championed his famed “Four-Acre Model” — one acre each for coffee, fruits, pasture for eight Friesian cows, and food crops. He urged rural households to engage in profitable backyard farming, citing fish ponds that can net up to UGX 80 million annually.
PDM Funds: “This Is Not Free Money!”
Sounding a warning against misuse of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds, Museveni stated, “This is your community bank, not a handout. If you misuse or fail to repay, you’re robbing your neighbors.” He stressed transparency and community oversight as key to the model’s success.
In one of the most politically charged portions of his speech, the President tore into illegal evictions and exploitation by landlords, branding them “colonial relics.” Going forward, he ordered that all ground rent (busuulu) payments be routed through sub-county offices to stop extortion and illegal land grabs.
“Landlords abusing ignorance will be dealt with. The era of evicting people like colonial agents is over,” he vowed.
To roaring cheers, Museveni pledged UGX 30 million each to Buikwe’s Youth SACCO and Women SACCO. He praised ongoing development projects in the district, including the UGX 10 billion District Headquarters, a UGX 1.3 billion irrigation scheme, and the long-awaited Lugazi-Kiyindi-Buikwe road.
Hon. Diana Mutasingwa, Buikwe Woman MP and Minister of State for the Vice President’s Office, lauded the President’s commitment to grassroots transformation, hailing the passing of the Sugarcane Bill and the sustained infrastructure boom. However, she also pressed for urgent support to the embattled fishing communities along Lake Victoria.
President Museveni’s speech signals a strategic pivot: from national defense to local vigilance. His directive banning police bonds for violent criminals is sure to trigger debate among human rights circles, but for many Ugandans weary of rising rural crime, it may feel long overdue.
The peace was earned with blood. Museveni now wants it guarded with unity, phones on speed dial — and no second chances for killers.