President Museveni Launches Bugisu Campaign, Explains Mbale Land Deal

By Frank Kamuntu

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential flag bearer, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has defended his acquisition of the land where the Mbale Industrial Park sits, dismissing allegations that it was grabbed from locals.

While addressing supporters in Sironko District on the first day of his Bugisu sub-region campaign trail, President Museveni explained that the land had previously been used by some local leaders to secure a loan from an American investor, but they failed to pay it back.

“Nandala Mafabi was running the Bugisu Cooperative Union and they got loans from an American. The American wanted to confiscate the land and I bought it,” Museveni said.

“When the Chinese came, I gave them that land to establish an industrial park. Now see how they have transformed the place into a town,” he added.

The President said Mbale’s transformation into a growing industrial hub is part of the NRM’s deliberate agenda to promote industrialization and create jobs.

“The industrial park has so many factories producing goods that used to be imported. That town was born out of NRM’s vision, and no one should claim otherwise,” he emphasized.

Museveni’s remarks came as he officially kicked off his Bugisu campaign following the conclusion of his Teso sub-region tour in Bukedea District. The campaigns are running under the theme “Protecting the Gains as We Make a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status.”

Addressing thousands of supporters in Sironko, the President thanked residents for their continued support and urged them to vote for all NRM candidates in the upcoming elections.

“Peace was not easy to achieve. The NRM worked tirelessly for many years, guided by our ideology and commitment to unity. All the development you see in Sironko today has been brought by the NRM,” he said.

Museveni highlighted several achievements under the NRM government, including the completion of key roads connecting Mbale to Kapchorwa and Karamoja, and the Bumbobi–Lwakhakha road. He also announced that government will soon start work on the Namagumba–Budadiri–Nalugugu road to further open up the region.

On access to clean water, Museveni said that out of 1,543 rural villages in Sironko, 1,374 — about 89 percent — now have safe water. A total of 24 piped water and sanitation systems are already operational, benefiting communities such as Mutufu Town Board, Buteza, Pato, Buwalasi, and Buginyanya. Plans are underway to expand water coverage to the remaining 169 villages and to construct the Nasumati Piped Water Supply and Sanitation System.

In the education sector, the President noted that Sironko District has 224 parishes, of which 98 have at least one government primary school, while 126 still lack one. The district currently has 111 government primary schools serving nearly 99,000 pupils, and 12 secondary schools with more than 10,000 students. Museveni pledged that every parish will have a government primary school and each sub-county a secondary school, adding that three new seed secondary schools will soon be built.

On healthcare, Museveni said that out of Sironko’s 42 sub-counties, two have Health Centre IVs, 18 have Health Centre IIIs, while 22 still lack facilities of that level. Government plans to upgrade several Health Centre IIs — including Bubbeza, Buyaya, Kyesha, Bugusege, and Nampanga — to Health Centre III status, and to build new health facilities in underserved areas. He also outlined ongoing efforts to strengthen immunization, malaria control, and medical equipment supply.

The President further highlighted NRM’s efforts to boost agricultural productivity, especially in coffee, bananas, and dairy, crediting the progress to government-backed research at Kawanda Agricultural Research Centre.

“We have modernized coffee production, improved quality and productivity, and prices have gone up because of global market trends. These are achievements of the NRM, not individuals,” he said.

Through the Parish Development Model (PDM), Museveni said Sironko’s 224 parishes have received 68.99 billion shillings, with more than 98 percent disbursed to 66,809 households. The district also has 36 Emyooga SACCOs with over 18,000 members who have received 1.54 billion shillings to support small enterprises.

The President reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening education, healthcare, water access, roads, and agriculture, as well as promoting skills development through Presidential Industrial Hubs. He revealed that the Bugisu Industrial Hub in Mbale has already trained 1,167 youth in welding, carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing, and bakery, helping them create jobs and reduce unemployment.

During the rally, President Museveni handed over NRM flags to party candidates, including aspiring Members of Parliament, LC V chairpersons, councillors, and other local leaders, officially endorsing them for the upcoming elections.

Sironko District NRM Chairperson, Mr. Lumolo Mafabi, commended the President for his leadership and called for the upgrading of the district hospital to improve health services.

The event was attended by members of the NRM Central Executive Committee, the Party Secretariat led by Secretary General Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, ministers, MPs, religious and cultural leaders, and thousands of enthusiastic supporters who filled the rally grounds to cheer the President as he launched his Bugisu campaign.