Bombo — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), has called on leaders to prioritise identifying and addressing the practical needs of citizens, saying this has been the guiding philosophy of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) since the 1960s.
The President made the remarks while presiding over the election of UPDF representatives to the 12th Parliament at the Land Forces Headquarters in Bombo. During the Defence Council Delegates Conference, UPDF officers elected 10 representatives—seven men and three women.
The elected male representatives are: Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding (340 votes), Lt. Gen. James Mugira (303 votes), Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma (282 votes), Brig. Gen. Gonyi David (266 votes), Maj. Gen. Henry Masiko (251 votes), Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa (241 votes), and Brig. Gen. Joseph Ssemwanga (198 votes).
The female representatives elected are: Col. Meeme Sylvia (314 votes), Col. Ikiriza Knight (307 votes), and Col. Nekesa Christine Situma (261 votes).
“I spent the day in Bombo, where we elected ten Members of Parliament to represent the UPDF. I reminded our people of Okukyenuura: the removal of Emikyeno, the solvable needs of the people. Leadership succeeds by identifying these needs and deliberately solving them, not just through talking,” President Museveni said on X (formerly Twitter).
The President thanked the UPDF High Command for nominating the officers and referenced the Runyankore concept of “okukyenura,” describing it as the deliberate identification and resolution of people’s practical challenges.
Reflecting on the NRM’s early achievements, President Museveni noted that by 1996, the Movement had restored discipline within the army, rejected sectarian politics, eliminated shortages of essential commodities, rebuilt infrastructure, and rolled out immunisation against the six killer diseases. He said these efforts earned the NRM massive public support.
He also highlighted ongoing government initiatives aimed at uplifting the poor, including Entandikwa, Universal Primary Education, army schools, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, and the Parish Development Model (PDM), which he said is delivering positive results at the grassroots.
“The peace secured by the UPDF has made development possible, and programmes like PDM must be protected to lift the poor while growing the economy,” he added.
President Museveni further explained that UPDF representatives in Parliament act as observation posts, identifying national issues early and reporting them to the army leadership to help 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 sooner.
He tasked the newly elected representatives to monitor government programmes including the Parish Development Model, free education, road construction, and immunisation, while noting that challenges remain in curative healthcare despite improvements in preventive services.
On electoral governance, the President reiterated the NRM’s long-standing objective to ensure one person, one vote by secret ballot, revealing that irregularities in the 2021 elections, including an estimated 2.7 million infiltrated votes, informed his insistence on biometric verification systems, which he noted have yet to be fully implemented.
“For the country to remain stable, people in power must allow citizens to freely choose their leaders,” he emphasized, commending the UPDF and other security agencies for securing the recent elections.
The Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama, congratulated the UPDF officers for their discipline during the voting process and urged all stakeholders to embrace unity as the election season concludes.
During the same ceremony, President Museveni commissioned three officer cadets presented by Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa. The officers are Bazalaki Timothy, trained at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka, and Akoi Moses and Piloya Vivian, who completed their training in Tanzania.
“I congratulate the elected UPDF representatives and wish them success in serving the country,” President Museveni said.
