PRESIDENT MUSEVENI’S CANDIDACY FOR 2026 AFFIRMED
By Fred Siminyu
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party Secretary General, Richard Todwong, has affirmed President Museveni’s candidacy for 2026, stating that, he [Museveni] will be the sole party flag bearer come 2026.
Todwong made the declaration during an event that was held to commemorate NRM Day in Serere District over the weekend, where he clarified that president Museveni is ready to serve the country and characterized groups advocating for Muhoozi’s political aspirations and those supporting his father as “tributaries to take water to the main river.”
He dismissed the disagreements between Museveni and Muhoozi supporters as illogical, driven solely by “fights for positions and limited opportunities we have.”
This means that, without more doubt, President Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has left no stone unturned in its clarification that the 79-year-old longstanding leader would be the party’s presidential candidate in 2026.
Gen Muhoozi had been widely anticipated to make significant announcements in 2024, including his retirement from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the formation of a political party, and a plan for establishing party structures.
The first son, also serving as his father’s senior advisor on special operations, announced that his political movement had evolved into PLU, a civic organization without any mention of his presidential ambitions for 2026.
The President appeared to halt his son’s 2026 presidential aspirations after his (Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s) MK Movement transformed into the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a civic organization officially registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) rather than as a political party under the Electoral Commission (EC).
President Museveni last year cautioned Muhoozi against individuals advocating for his 2026 presidential candidacy and was quoted as saying, “during the 48th birthday celebrations, there was some enthusiasm by some of the youths. When I analyzed it, I could see that it was because of weakness of our system. I could see it was sort of a resistance movement within the resistance movement,”
“Of course some of the things Muhoozi doesn’t know is that some of them are looking for their own interests. Some are looking for this, some are looking for that,” Museveni said. “Some of the frustrated youths go to that group [MK Movement] thinking that there is hope.”
Individuals associated with Muhoozi in the MK Movement have transitioned to PLU alongside him.
