Kasese/Rwenzori – The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) manifesto campaign, led by presidential candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi, has intensified its nationwide mobilisation in western Uganda, engaging residents on issues of accountability, service delivery, and inclusive development.
The campaign rolled through Kasese District, including Kabatunda–Kirabaho Town Council, Mpondwe–Lhubiriha Town Council, and Mitibiri Trading Centre in Muhokya Sub-county, with crowds turning out in large numbers to interact with the FDC team. Residents expressed concerns over poor roads, unreliable health services, and the need for leadership that listens and delivers.
“The message from Kasese is clear: communities demand accountable leadership, better services, and inclusive development,” said FDC officials, highlighting the engagement of border and trading communities, who emphasised the need for equitable growth that benefits all citizens.
In neighbouring Bunyangabu District, the FDC manifesto campaign energised residents of Nyakigumba Town Council, promoting people-centred development and stressing that no one should be left behind in the national growth agenda.
Earlier in the week, on January 2-3, Mafabi visited Kabarole District and Fort Portal City, engaging young people on unemployment challenges in Kiko Town Council and stressing the role of education and skill-building in economic development.
At Karuguuza, Kibaale Town District, residents raised concerns over the lack of tertiary institutions, limiting opportunities for youth. Mafabi reiterated that the FDC manifesto prioritises investments in vocational and tertiary education to equip young people for employment.
At Kakumiro Town Council, Mafabi highlighted the collapse and privatisation of the Kakumiro Growers Cooperative Union, which he said has disadvantaged farmers and weakened local economies.
“Reviving and protecting cooperative unions is essential to lift communities out of poverty, create jobs, and ensure that wealth benefits the people, not a few individuals,” he stated.
Campaign Themes and Promises
Mafabi’s campaign has centred on practical economic solutions, under the slogan “Fixing the Economy, Money in Our Pockets.”
Key pledges include: prioritising Ugandan contractors over foreign firms for public projects to reduce unemployment, allocating at least 10% of the national budget to agriculture, including subsidies, silos, and crop insurance and reviving the Cooperative Bank and establishing an Agricultural Bank to provide low- or interest-free loans to farmers and small businesses.
Others include: ending police and security brutality while improving welfare for security personnel, addressing local challenges such as human-wildlife conflict, land grabbing, cattle theft, and predatory lending, supporting youth and graduates through subsidised motorcycles for employment and startup packages and ensuring communities in mineral-rich areas directly benefit from local resources, while boosting sector-specific production such as cotton in Bukedi and tea in Rwenzori.
Mafabi has criticised the ruling NRM’s poverty programs, such as PDM and Emyooga, calling them recycled failures, and has emphasised the importance of a peaceful transition via the ballot in the January 15, 2026, elections.
The FDC campaign style remains issue-focused and measured, with modest but engaged crowds, contrasting with higher-energy rallies by other candidates.
