The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has intensified its nationwide mobilisation campaign to gather endorsements for Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba ahead of the 2031 presidential election.
The latest activities were reported in Tororo and Rukungiri, as the organisation expands the collection of signatures backing Kainerugaba, who is also PLU chairman.
PLU Secretary General Fadil Twalla has previously said the organisation is distributing physical endorsement books through its structures across the country, while an online platform has also been established to allow supporters to register their endorsement. PLU says the campaign is targeting 20 million signatures.
In Tororo, Minister of State for ICT and National Guidance Balaam Barugahara said he had commissioned the registration and endorsement exercise for Kainerugaba.
“Day One has already recorded over 2,600 signatures of endorsement,” Barugahara said in a statement posted on X on Saturday.
He said endorsement books would also be placed at the offices of Members of Parliament in different constituencies to allow more people to participate.
The exercise involved local leaders including MPs Sayama Tanna, Richard Owere and John Okea, Deputy Resident District Commissioner Faheera Mpalanyi and Tororo Municipality Mayor Ben Ochieng.
In Rukungiri, Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Frank Tumwebaze joined government officials and PLU members at a thanksgiving ceremony for State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi Muhwezi.
Tumwebaze said he appreciated the reception accorded to the delegation by residents in the area.
PLU’s mobilisation follows Kainerugaba’s declaration last month that he intends to contest for president in 2031. The announcement was made public by David Kabanda, head of the office of the PLU national chairman, at a meeting with MPs and PLU supporters in Kampala.
Since then, the organisation has secured endorsements from politicians, business leaders and other public figures.
Five MPs from the Ankole sub-region — Amos Kankunda, Amanya Cohen Kyampene, Mwine Mpaka Rwamirama, Boaz Atwijukire and Zadock Mutekanga — formally endorsed Kainerugaba during a visit to the PLU national secretariat earlier this month.
The campaign has also attracted endorsements from prominent business figures. Daily Monitor reported that businessmen including Sudhir Ruparelia and Godfrey Kirumira, as well as former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya, had joined the PLU mobilisation.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has also publicly endorsed Kainerugaba, describing his participation as part of what PLU calls a civic endorsement exercise.
PLU maintains that it is a civic organisation operating within the National Resistance Movement framework rather than an independent political party. However, its nationwide endorsement activities have drawn attention because Kainerugaba remains Uganda’s serving Chief of Defence Forces.
Daily Monitor reported that PLU officials have said the organisation is not yet conducting a formal presidential campaign because Kainerugaba remains an active military commander. According to the report, any formal campaign would follow his departure from the armed forces and formal acceptance of the endorsements.
The current endorsement exercise is therefore focused on mobilising and documenting support ahead of the 2031 electoral cycle, rather than the formal nomination and campaign period for that election.
PLU says its activities will continue across the country as it seeks to build a national support base for Kainerugaba’s proposed presidential bid.
