President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni, has today held his campaign rally in Kotido District at Lomukura Primary School, Kotido Central Division in Kotido Municipality.
President Museveni began his address by commending the people of Karamoja for embracing peace and supporting government efforts to disarm the region.
“Our first point in the NRM Manifesto is peace. When we stopped guns, there was a woman in Nakapiripirit I will never forget — she had been married to nine men, and all of them died because of the gun,” the President recalled.
He thanked the Karamojong who helped in the disarmament process and specifically appreciated individuals like Natuk Judith for convincing the Karachunas (youth warriors) to voluntarily hand over guns.
“I want to thank the youth groups who helped me. Now you can see peace — not only in Karamoja but in the whole of Uganda. What was causing war was not much, only greed, where someone thinks about himself alone. The NRM rejected all that,” he said.
President Museveni added that by rejecting the politics of tribe and religion, the NRM built a strong and united political movement that wins elections in the first round and has established solid state institutions such as the Army and Police.
On development, the President noted that the government has extended electricity from Soroti through Kotido to Karenga, improving communication and connectivity in the region.
“We were able to bring electricity all the way from Soroti to Kotido to Karenga. Your problem with telephones is now solved, and the next issue to tackle is roads — like the tarmac from Lira to Kitgum up to Sudan. We are also going to work on the Moroto–Kotido road,” he said.
He cautioned that the government must prioritize infrastructure before increasing salaries.
“When we tell our teachers to hold on as we construct roads, they say, ‘No, you have to pay us now.’ But development benefits everyone — wealth is yours alone, but development is for all,” President Museveni emphasized.
The President revealed plans to transform Karamoja into an industrial hub for Uganda, citing ongoing and planned private investments such as cement factories which have been attracted by peace and stability.
President Museveni also highlighted government efforts to improve water access in Kotido.
“The water situation here is still low — out of 491 villages, only 125 have access to safe water. But we are working to change that,” he said.
He noted that the government has already constructed three piped water systems in Kotido and several valley dams to support both human and livestock needs.
“These include the Sinat Valley Dam with a capacity of 4.4 billion litres, Kaoyagorok Dam with 1.7 billion litres, and the Kailong Earth Dam with 167 million litres.
Twenty-two valley tanks and solar-powered irrigation systems have also been completed,” President Museveni said, adding that more projects are under construction, including high-yielding boreholes and small-scale irrigation schemes.
On education, the President reiterated his commitment to providing free education in government schools.
“I have been having a challenge with school managers who charge fees in government schools. So, I decided to start skilling hubs per zone to show that free education is possible,” he said.
“These skilling hubs train students for just six months for free, and they are now producing items that we used to import from China,” President Museveni explained.
On health, President Museveni revealed that Kotido District has 15 sub-counties with one referral hospital and seven Health Centre IIIs.
He pledged to continue upgrading and expanding health facilities across the district.
“We are upgrading Kacheri Health Centre III to IV, and converting several others like Lokiding, Losakucha, Lopuyo, and Nakwakwa from Health Centre IIs to IIIs. New Health Centre IIIs will also be constructed in the West and North Divisions,” he said.
Maama Janet, in her remarks, thanked the people of Karamoja for their overwhelming support.
“I am so happy to be in Karamoja. Coming here is like coming home,” she said.
She called on residents to embrace transformation in the next Kisanja (term), emphasizing that the government’s goal is to ensure that there are no more grass-thatched houses and that development spreads across the region.
“The message of transformation is very important for Karamoja in the next Kisanja so that there will be tremendous development in the whole sub-region,” she added.
Dr. Lokii John Baptist, the NRM Vice Chairperson for Karamoja region, thanked President Museveni for restoring democracy and peace in the region.
He praised the UPDF for helping to remove illegal guns and pledged 100 percent support for the President in the upcoming elections.
Dr. Lochap Paul, the NRM Chairperson for Kotido District, also thanked the President for upgrading central roads to tarmac, saying it has spurred local growth.
He requested the creation of Kapeta District to bring services closer to the people and appealed for pardon of the Karachunas involved in past disarmament incidents.
He further appreciated the establishment of the skilling hub in Napak District, which is training youth from across the Karamoja sub-region.
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