Why President Museveni/ NRM lost support in Central region

While coming to power in 1986, President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta Tibuhaburwa was more liked in the central than in other regions of Uganda.

However, the longer he has stayed, Gen Museveni together with his party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) have lost favour in the central region, a region that played an important role in his liberation stuggle.

Unlike in in the past general elections where NRM party has been winning with over 90 per cent of Parliamentary seats in the central region, 2021 election has painted a clear picture that the central region is now a typical base for the opposition. This was reflected when all his ministers and all NRM candidates from the central lost their parliamentary seats to the new political party National Unity Platform (NUP) and other opposition parties.

The State Minister for Tourism also Chairman NRM Buganda region Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi points out Covid-19 as one of the factors for NRM’s loss in the Central since candidates were banned from holding campaign rallies thus creating a big gap between the people in central and the party.

“We have a lot of issues to do in central, we have been in an election at the same time when the world is fighting Covid-19. Our main candidate (Gen Museveni) has not spoken widely to people as he did in the previous elections. However, also in central some people are not happy with our party due to Covid-19 guidelines that have left some of them jobless. In central-most people deal in bars, restaurants, entertainment and because of covid-19 these businesses are closed, therefore some have to vote NRM out since they are annoyed,” he said.

Kiwanda also alleges that catholic priests in the central de-campaigned NRM directly,

“Some religious leaders have come out and de-campaigned us directly, you have been seeing several clips of them speak ill about our party and most of those priests come from the central region,” he said.

However, the former minister without portfolio Hajji Abdul Naduli in one of the interviews held on TMO Youtube channel before the polling day, alluded that the NRM party has not fulfilled the promises it made to the people of the central region while coming on power. He also said that party is too disorganized in that every member is on his own.

“The opposition has nothing to do with the collapse of NRM, no, in fact, these young boys are playing their own politics like how we were in the 1980s, but what made us win the war was because of the disorganization in Obote’s camps and this is what am seeing right now in our party. And the recent primaries were a good example for us to learn from,” he said.

Nadduli also added that some NRM candidates in Central had lost people’s favour.

“During Obote’s reign, people used to come from other regions to represent us in Parliament, it’s the same thing we see here and people come from nowhere that I want to be a member of Parliament here in the central and the leader is keeping silent, this is going to cause a problem. The party has given full mandate to one person which is wrong also, he can’t be the only person to solve the whole problem of the party and yet he is the same person commanding who should contest where and how,” he added.

According to other observers, the events that took place on 18th-19th last year in November where over 60 people in the central region lost their lives due to live shootings by the army and the Police made people angry at NRM government because it defended the actions of the perpetrators instead of blaming the erroneous action.

The issue of age limit is also another factor that the opposition used in the campaigns to ignite the anger of the voters especially those that never wanted to see Gen Museveni on the 2021 ballot paper.

Finally, the arrogance and brutal treatment of those on the opposition by some NRM candidates in the central also contributed a lot to the declining support of the ruling party.