President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has officially accepted and welcomed his endorsement as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Presidential flagbearer for the 2026 general elections and as National Chairman of the ruling party for the 2025–2031 term.
The endorsement, which came unopposed, was announced on Wednesday 27, August, 2025, during the first meeting of the fifth NRM National Conference held at the Kololo Independence Grounds, attended by more than 23,000 delegates from across the country.
Accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Kataha Museveni, the President expressed gratitude to the party and its structures for entrusting him with the leadership mantle once again.
“I thank you for entrusting me to be your Chairman of the NRM for the period 2025–2031. Thank you so much,” President Museveni told the gathering.
“Thank you for electing me as your flag bearer for the presidential contest for the position of President of Uganda for 2026–2031. I will not let you down. We have got more capacity now than ever before,” he added.
He further praised the masses of NRM members across the country, the Central Executive Committee (CEC), the National Executive Council (NEC), and the National Conference delegates for supporting his expression of interest in both positions.
The Secretary General of the NRM, Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, informed delegates that the party’s top organs, including the CEC and NEC, had unanimously endorsed President Museveni as the sole presidential flag bearer for the 2026 general election.
“The Central Executive Committee and the National Executive Council strongly recommended and endorsed His Excellency General (Retired) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as the NRM presidential flag bearer, unopposed,” Rt Hon. Todwong stated.
Similarly, the NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson, Dr. Tanga Odoi, declared President Museveni unopposed for both the NRM National Chairperson and Presidential flag bearer positions.
“On behalf of the NRM Electoral Commission, I now present to the conference the candidate Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for the position of Presidential flag bearer,” Dr. Odoi announced, to resounding applause.
Alongside President Museveni’s endorsement, Al-Hajji Moses Kigongo was also re-elected unopposed as the First National Vice Chairperson of the NRM. H.E. Museveni congratulated him, describing him as a “senior cadre of the NRM who has served the party since 1980.”
The President also extended congratulations to the newly elected leaders of various NRM party positions. However, he offered a word of caution and advice.
“I congratulate you, but I want to give you advice. Be the leaders who solve the solvable problems, and the people will love you. But don’t carry the population on your head. Lead them by using government resources, not your own money. This is where corruption comes about, by trying to fund everything, yet you don’t even have enough money,” H.E. Museveni cautioned.
The conference marked a pivotal moment in Uganda’s political calendar, with delegates choosing the leaders who will steer the party through the next five years.
A historical and economic reflection:
President Museveni also took delegates through a detailed reflection on Uganda’s economic history, from colonial times to the present, highlighting the transformation achieved under the NRM since 1986.
He noted that at independence in 1962, Uganda’s economy was narrowly based on six key exports—the “3Cs” (Coffee, Cotton, Copper) and the “3Ts” (Tea, Tourism, Tobacco). This enclave economy covered just 9% of homesteads, leaving 91% of Ugandans in subsistence farming.
By the time Idi Amin’s regime collapsed in 1979, cotton, copper, tea, and tourism had collapsed, leaving only coffee and tobacco “limping on.” The economy had been reduced to informal survival mechanisms like magendo (smuggling), kibaanda (forex black market), and kusamula (speculation).
The NRM, he said, took on the task of reviving the economy through five distinct phases: Minimum Economic Recovery—restoring collapsed sectors and reforming the economy, Expansion of the Enclave Economy—boosting production of coffee, tea, tourism, etc., Diversification—commercializing subsistence crops like maize, bananas, milk, beef, cassava, and sugarcane, Value Addition—processing raw materials locally to increase earnings and jobs—and Knowledge Economy—moving into sectors such as ICT, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and automobile production.
“As a result, Uganda’s GDP has grown from USD 3.9 billion in 1986 to USD 66.1 billion (forex method) and USD 188 billion (PPP method) by the close of the 2025/2026 financial year. The economy of Uganda has expanded 17 times since 1986, despite the corruption and disorientation of some of the actors,” President Museveni said. He projected a qualitative leap towards a USD 500 billion economy, anchored on peace, infrastructure, wealth creation, jobs, services, and markets.
The President outlined seven guidelines towards Uganda’s continued progress: peace, development, wealth, jobs, services, markets, and political federation. He emphasized that peace was the foundation of prosperity and cautioned Ugandans to resist electoral friction, noting that the NRM has delivered 40 years of peace, a feat unmatched since pre-colonial times.
“Without peace, you cannot create prosperity, which is number one of our historical missions. Through correct politics, emphasizing interests (business, markets, services, etc.) instead of identity (tribes, religious sectarianism, gender chauvinism). This has enabled us to unite our people politically and create strong national institutions such as the army, political parties, police, etc.,” President Museveni said.
About Wealth (Obugaiga), President Museveni urged Ugandans to focus on four sectors, namely commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT. Citing success stories like Ijala Joseph of Serere, who earns UGX 1.4 billion annually from just 2.5 acres, President Museveni insisted that wealth creation starts at the family level and later expands to create jobs that stem from wealth creation, not government payrolls.
“Government jobs are only 480,000. Factories and commercial farming have created more jobs than the government. Uganda has 40 million acres of arable land, and even if 7 million acres are put to use, the country could generate 500 million jobs,” he said.
Regarding strategic security, President Museveni warned that while prosperity was necessary, it was not sufficient for strategic security. With major global powers advancing into space and dominating in four dimensions (land, air, sea, and space), Uganda alone could not match them.
“Even when Uganda becomes developed, can it be present in these four dimensions? My answer is no. Africa needs political integration to ensure strategic security,” he remarked.
He hailed the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as a step toward prosperity but emphasized that the East African political federation would consolidate both economic growth and security, leveraging shared language and cultural similarities, especially through Swahili.
Al-Hajji Kigongo, congratulated President Museveni upon his unopposed endorsement, pledging continued loyalty and service to the party.
“Allow me to congratulate you upon the nomination,” Alhajji Kigongo said. “I’m very happy and thank you very much for what you have done ever since you came here. Thank you for giving us a chance to continue serving this country. We’re not going to let you down.”
The conference attracted a broad spectrum of Ugandan leaders and international guests. Among those present were the Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Jessica Alupo Rose Epel; the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among; the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa; the Second National Vice Chairperson, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga; the Prime Minister, Rt.Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, and her Deputy Prime Ministers; former Ugandan leaders, including ex-Vice Presidents Gilbert Bukenya and Edward Ssekandi; Members of Parliament; members of the CEC; among others.
International delegations included representatives from Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, China, and the Saharawi Republic, High Commissioners and Ambassadors.
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