KAMPALA — Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Chairman and Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has replaced Kasambya County MP David Kabanda as the pressure group’s Secretary General, appointing former Member of Parliament Fadil Twaha to the influential position.
The announcement was made on Monday through a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, in which Gen. Muhoozi praised Kabanda’s service while unveiling a broader restructuring of the PLU leadership.
“The new General Secretary of PLU is Hon. Fadil Twalla. I will work closely with him to achieve our objectives. I thank Hon. Kabanda for his three years of excellent service. He set the standard high for the position,” Muhoozi posted.
In response, Kabanda thanked Muhoozi for giving him the opportunity to serve: “I take this opportunity to sincerely thank you, my chairman for the trust and confidence you placed in me by appointing me as the pioneer General Secretary of PLU. It has been a great honor to serve. To Hon. Fadhil Twalla, I congratulate you on your appointment as General Secretary of PLU. Wishing you every success, Ndugu.”
In a separate directive, Muhoozi instructed PLU National Vice Chairperson Michael Nuwagira to organise an immediate handover ceremony between Kabanda and Twaha.
“The National Vice Chairperson of PLU, Mr. Michael Nuwagira, is hereby instructed to organise the handover/takeover ceremony of the position of General Secretary of PLU as soon as possible. From Hon. Kabanda to Hon. Fadil. All PLU Ministers and Members of Parliament must attend,” he said.
The change ends Kabanda’s tenure as the chief administrator and spokesperson of the organisation, a role in which he frequently communicated major PLU positions and policy directives. Earlier this year, Kabanda announced PLU’s withdrawal of support for the speakership bids of Anita Among and Thomas Tayebwa following guidance from Muhoozi.
Despite losing the Secretary General position, Kabanda remains part of the organisation’s top leadership. Muhoozi later announced that “Hon. Kabanda is retained as a member of the Central Committee.”
The appointment of Twaha was accompanied by several other high-profile changes within the PLU structure. Muhoozi named Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa? (No announcement made), while specifically appointing Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Hussein Kashillingi and Alan Kasujja as members of the Central Committee.
He also appointed Minister of State for Defence Jacob Oboth-Oboth and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa as members of the Central Committee and designated them as his “special envoys to Parliament.”
Other appointments included Kwame Ruyondo as the Central Committee representative for NRA historicals, while State Minister Balaam Barugahara retained his position as PLU Vice Chairman for Western Uganda. Kiryowa Kiwanuka was additionally appointed Vice Chairman for Buganda.
The leadership changes come as Muhoozi intensifies efforts to strengthen PLU’s political influence and align the organisation’s activities with the government’s economic transformation agenda. In another statement, he said PLU’s mission is to help achieve President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s target of growing Uganda’s economy to 500 billion dollars by 2031.
“Our task as PLU is to achieve Mzee’s target of a 500-billion-dollar GDP by 2031,” Muhoozi stated, adding that PLU members serving in Cabinet and Parliament should return to the grassroots and monitor government programmes in line with the President’s directives.
The latest appointments signal a significant reorganisation within PLU as the movement seeks to consolidate its structures and expand its role in supporting government programmes and mobilising political support across the country.
