3,200 Sign For Muhoozi As PLU’s 20 Million-Signature Drive Hits Masaka

By Our Reporter

More than 3,200 local leaders in Masaka City have appended their signatures in support of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s proposed bid for the presidency in the 2031 General Election, as the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) intensifies its grassroots mobilisation across the country.

The signature collection exercise, held at Brovad Hotel in Masaka City, was led by Hajjat Sarah Kiyimba, the Rakai Resident District Commissioner and PLU women’s leader for Greater Masaka, as the movement sought to demonstrate that support for Gen Kainerugaba’s candidature is being generated from citizens rather than imposed on them.

The exercise is part of a wider PLU campaign to collect endorsements for Gen Kainerugaba, who is also the organisation’s chairman and Chief of Defence Forces. PLU says the nationwide exercise is intended to allow Ugandans who support his candidature to formally register their endorsement.

Addressing the gathering, Ms Kiyimba said the response from Masaka demonstrated the willingness of residents, particularly women and community leaders, to participate in shaping the country’s political future.

She said the signature campaign should be viewed as an opportunity for ordinary Ugandans to make their voices heard rather than as a process through which one individual or institution determines the country’s next leadership.

Kiyimba added that the participation of more than 3,200 people from Masaka City was a significant indication of the level of interest generated by the PLU mobilisation exercise in Greater Masaka.

According to Ms Kiyimba, women have a particularly important role to play in the mobilisation process because of their influence within families and communities.

“We are ready to mobilise our fellow women and ensure that their voices are heard in this process. Women should be part of every political mobilisation taking place in the country,” she said.

Her remarks echo her earlier position during the Masaka mobilisation, where she said women in the region were prepared to participate actively in the endorsement exercise.

The meeting was also attended by Hon David Kabanda, the Executive Secretary in the Office of the National Chairman of PLU, who was the guest of honour.

Mr Kabanda used the gathering to call for unity among PLU supporters and urged leaders at the grassroots to work together as the movement expands its structures across the country.

He said the signature campaign was intended to give Ugandans an opportunity to express their support for Gen Kainerugaba’s candidature ahead of the 2031 elections.

Kabanda said the initiative was also meant to demonstrate that President Yoweri Museveni was not imposing his son on Ugandans, arguing that the endorsement drive was being conducted to allow citizens themselves to express whether they wanted Gen Kainerugaba to seek the presidency.

“The purpose of this exercise is to show that this is not about President Museveni imposing his son on Ugandans. Ugandans themselves should be given the opportunity to choose whether they want Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to contest,” he said.

He urged PLU members and supporters to maintain unity, organise at the grassroots and work collectively to ensure that the endorsement exercise reaches communities across Masaka and the wider region.

The gathering also marked the opening of PLU offices in Masaka City, a development expected to strengthen the movement’s presence and coordination in the region.

The new offices are intended to provide a local coordination point for PLU activities, membership mobilisation, communication and community engagement as the organisation builds its structures ahead of the 2031 political cycle.

The Masaka mobilisation follows the launch of PLU’s nationwide signature collection campaign earlier this month. The organisation has said its target is to collect 20 million signatures in support of Gen Kainerugaba’s proposed 2031 presidential bid, with endorsement registers being distributed across the country.

The campaign has since spread to several parts of the country, with local leaders receiving endorsement books and mobilising residents to participate in the exercise.

PLU describes itself as a civic movement promoting patriotism, national unity, responsible citizenship, community service and national development.