The Secretary-Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande has appealed to the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) in Busoga to ensure that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni wins the forthcoming presidential elections by a landslide.
Hajji Kakande’s call follows President Museveni’s declined support in Busoga in the last general elections.
According to Hajji Kakande, the RDCs should ensure effective service delivery in their areas of jurisdiction and this way, Ugandans will support the ruling government more because it fulfils its mandate.
“We know H.E the President is going to win the coming elections but what we want is a landslide victory in Busoga. You must be the first to defend the gains Busoga has made under the NRM and the goal is to ensure that the President is voted into power again,” he said.
Hajji Kakande made the remarks today at the opening of a 3-day capacity building workshop for RDCs/RCCs, Deputy RDCs/RCCs, Assistant RDCs/RCCs, RISOs and DISOs in Busoga subregion, held at the Source of the Nile Hotel, Jinja City.
He informed the RDCs that the recent NRM party primary elections should serve as a lesson and ensure that the forthcoming elections are fully peaceful.
“The NRM party primary elections were the mock exams, they showed you where you stand, take lessons from them and ensure that the coming elections are peaceful with no violence. As the head of security in your district, work with the DPC and other security officers to ensure peaceful elections,” he advised.
“Get information early and take action. If there’s some sinister plan, arrest the suspects. If you suspect that there’s a group of people who are about to cause trouble, arrest them and ensure there’s no violence.”
Hajji Kakande noted that as the country heads towards the 2026 general elections, the RDCs should uphold discipline and avoid incitement.
“The NRM remains strong because of its consistency, organizational strength, and clear ideology. Do not be distracted by opportunists or enemies of progress. As Presidential Representatives, you are expected to uphold political neutrality, but also protect the legacy and gains of the NRM,” he said.
“Your role includes: Neutralizing confusion by clarifying government programs; Guiding the public on peaceful civic participation. Ensuring discipline within NRM ranks and promoting reconciliation among leaders. We cannot afford to let internal divisions erode the gains we have achieved. Speak with one voice and Serve with one purpose.”
Hajji Kakande advised the RDCs to be content with their jobs because it is not easy to get such an opportunity.
“These jobs are very important and most Ugandans want them. Concentrate on your jobs, leave politics alone. However, leave those who want to join politics to go. As a young person with a good job, why do you want to join politics? Politics should be for old people like us. If the President has trusted you and given you a job, why do you throw it back to him?”he wondered.
“I also have a place where I come from, why don’t I go back and stand as an MP?As RDCs do your work, don’t go to join politics. Some who resigned recently for politics are already pleading to be reinstated as RDCs.”
He also urged the RDCs to ensure that they have all the knowledge and dynamics of the government programs like the Parish Development Model (PDM) and NDPIV so that they are able to effectively sensitize the citizens to embrace the initiatives.
“You are change agents in your respective districts and to be change agents you must be knowledgeable and to be knowledgeable you must read widely,” he said.
Hajji Kakande further encouraged the leaders to sensitise the citizens to embrace commercial agriculture and invest in high value crops like coffee for more financial returns.
“Tell people to take part in commercial agriculture and try to tell them to leave sugarcane growing and resort to coffee. Coffee never loses market, what can only happen is price fluctuation depending on the global market. They should diversify into other high value crops like coffee, food crops and also interest themselves with value addition,” he noted.
“We need commercial agriculture to improve our household incomes,food security and create employment opportunities for the youth. Our people should think beyond sugarcane. It’s easy to convince them to abandon the crop and resort to enterprises that can fetch them good money.”
On the other hand, Hajji Kakande cautioned the participants against environmental degradation, saying it disrupts the ecosystem.
“I call upon you to use the law to fight wetland encroachment, poor land use, among other bad practices.”
Furthermore, Hajji Kakande also drew attention to the issue of disunity among leaders in the subregion.
“These internal fights—especially within the NRM, are unacceptable and counterproductive. Division among leaders weakens your bargaining power and affects service delivery. Busoga is a region of great potential. However, unity among leaders is critical for unlocking that potential. We must stop using politics to divide communities and instead use leadership to unite and inspire them,”he said.
He explained that unity is the bedrock of development and It was imperative that as government representatives, they promote harmony and reconciliation, especially among NRM leaders at all levels.
“Internal wrangling only serves to derail the very development we seek to deliver. I urge you to champion togetherness, encourage conflict resolution, and foster an environment where everyone works toward a shared vision of transformation for Busoga and Uganda as a whole.”
The Deputy Head of the RDC Secretariat, Sr. Grace Akiror highlighted some of the objectives of the workshop. She said the workshop was organized to appraise the RDCs on their roles as the representatives of the President in their areas of jurisdiction; they ought to be smart and well equipped to execute their duties without reservations.
“We are also going to equip you with relevant skills geared towards better service delivery in the local government for the betterment of Ugandans,” Sr. Akiror said.
“The workshop is geared at making reminders to you on issues which are vital to you and impart knowledge to you that helps you to effectively execute your work.”
The Whip for Busoga Sub region and RCC for Jinja City, Mr. Richard Gulume assured Hajji Kakande that with enough manpower in place, they are going to make sure that they deliver upon their mandate so that President Museveni wins the forthcoming general elections.
“We have 44 MPs in the whole of Busoga and 41 MPs are NRM but the President performed below 40 percent in the past election. There’s no justification for that when we have 41 MPs, most of the Chairpersons are NRM, Councilors and LC1 Chairpersons are also NRM,” he said.
“Now the offices are equipped, we have the manpower to ensure that we deliver and we have no reasons as to why we are not performing.”
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