In Saturday’s presidential address, it was evident that the Museveni administration remains tone-deaf to the voices of young Ugandans. The President’s speech, surprisingly devoid of any substantial updates on the pressing issues of youth demands—particularly job creation and addressing rampant corruption—was profoundly disappointing. Despite the myriad of anti-corruption agencies in place, it appears that the regime is more inclined to glorify thuggery and stifle any opposition to its purported efforts to combat graft.
One could not help but notice the irony in the President’s reference to the anti-corruption walk that was many years ago organized by Col Edith Nakalema—a walk that, by all measures, yielded no tangible results. The President’s call for Ugandans to join him in the fight against corruption rings hollow when those who stand accused of corruption are neither investigated nor held accountable. This regime, with its countless anti-corruption agencies, seems more interested in maintaining the status quo than effecting any real change. It is baffling that despite overwhelming evidence against these corrupt individuals, no decisive action is taken.
The young people of Uganda are disillusioned. They have joined the President in his fight against corruption, planning to march to Parliament on the 23rd of July. Yet, instead of being welcomed, they face intimidation. As a committed NRM cadre and member, I am deeply disappointed. It seems the President wants us to sit idly by while our taxes are devoured by vultures. What does he expect us to do to end corruption? Are we to resort to mob justice, taking matters into our own hands whenever we encounter a corrupt official?
The President’s address last night was a bitter pill to swallow. It is clear that thieves and corrupt officials in Uganda have the President’s protection. Any thief who heard the President’s address must have slept soundly, knowing that they are safe from any repercussions. This is an administration that massages corruption rather than combats it.
It’s time the country, the President, listened to the young people. If the state has failed to mend corruption, let those who think that their future is being mismanaged, who feel hurt the most by corruption, be the ones that storm the streets. These plunderers are devouring this country as if it’s falling down tomorrow. It’s absurd to claim that young Ugandans are inspired by foreign interests to walk the streets, while overlooking who inspires the corrupt to devour taxpayers’ money as if the world is ending tomorrow. In whose interest do the corrupt operate? Nobody is worried because the corrupt aren’t worried either, knowing nobody will hold them accountable. The President has said this countless times; these are situations that promoted him and his colleagues to go to the bush and liberate this country from the clutches of dictatorship.
The President should heed the cries of the young people and take decisive action against those who have been plundering the nation’s resources. The youth are not asking for handouts; they are demanding their rightful place in the nation’s development. They are calling for an end to the systemic corruption that has crippled the country’s progress.
Will the President once again promise to fight corruption in his 2026 campaigns, having shown no real will to end it? His actions so far suggest a disturbing pattern of not only ignoring corruption but actively silencing those who dare to challenge it.
Let those who feel hurt the most, who feel their future is in unsafe hands, who feel mismanaged, march to the bush on July 23rd. Let those who feel this is their time to be heard, to make a statement, storm the streets. As if we don’t cry, die, or bleed… this regime isn’t prepared to hold thugs accountable.
The writer is the LC 5 Male youth councillor for Rubanda District
wilfredarinda@gmail.com
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