President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who is also the commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has called on leaders to focus on identifying and solving people’s practical needs, saying this has been the guiding philosophy of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) since the 1960s.
The President made the remarks today while presiding over the election of UPDF representatives to Parliament at the Land Forces Headquarters in Bombo.
During the Defence Council Delegates Conference, UPDF officers elected 10 representatives—seven men and three women—to serve in the 12th Parliament.
The elected male representatives include; Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding, who received 340 votes, Lt. Gen. James Mugira with 303 votes, Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma with 282 votes, Brig. Gen. Gonyi David with 266 votes, Maj. Gen. Henry Masiko with 251 votes, Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa with 241 votes, and Brig. Gen. Joseph Ssemwanga with 198 votes.
The elected female representatives are Col. Ikiriza Knight, who garnered 307 votes, Col. Meeme Sylvia who got 314 votes, and Col. Nekesa Christine Situma who received 261 votes.
In his address, President Museveni thanked the UPDF High Command for nominating the officers and reiterated the importance of leaders who are able to identify and work on citizens’ solvable needs.
He referenced the Runyankore concept of “okukyenura”, which he described as the deliberate identification and resolution of people’s practical challenges.
The President reflected on the NRM’s early achievements, noting that by 1996 the Movement had restored discipline within the army, firmly rejected sectarian politics, eliminated shortages of essential commodities, rebuilt infrastructure, and rolled out immunisation against the six killer diseases. He said these interventions earned the NRM massive public support at the time.
He further highlighted the government efforts aimed at uplifting the poor through initiatives such as Entandikwa, Universal Primary Education, army schools, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, and the Parish Development Model, which he said is currently delivering positive results at the grassroots.
The President added that the renewed enthusiasm witnessed around the NRM in the recent elections is a reflection of these efforts and the peace the movement has maintained.
President Museveni further explained that UPDF representatives in Parliament act as observation posts to identify national issues early and report them to the army leadership, thereby helping to prevent policy mistakes.
He cited the decision by Members of Parliament to increase their salaries as an example of an issue that could have been addressed earlier if such mechanisms were effectively utilized.
On the other hand, President Museveni tasked the newly elected UPDF representatives to closely monitor government programmes including the Parish Development Model, free education, road construction and immunisation, while noting that although preventive healthcare has improved, challenges remain in curative services.
On electoral governance, the President reiterated that the long-standing objective of the NRM has been to place Ugandans in charge of their country through one person, one vote by secret ballot. He revealed that irregularities were detected in the 2021 general elections, including the infiltration of an estimated 2.7 million votes, which informed his insistence on the use of biometric verification systems, although he noted that these had not been fully utilised.
The President emphasized that for the country to remain stable, people in power must allow citizens to freely choose their leaders. He also commended the UPDF and other security agencies for providing security during the recently concluded elections.
The Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama, congratulated UPDF officers for exhibiting discipline throughout the voting process and expressed hope that the same discipline would be exercised in other electoral processes across the country.
He called on all stakeholders to settle down and embrace unity as the election season comes to an end.
During the same ceremony, President Museveni commissioned three officer cadets presented by Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa, Joint Staff Human Resource Management.
The commissioned officers are Bazalaki Timothy, who trained at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka, Akoi Moses, and Piloya Vivian, both of whom completed their training in Tanzania.
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