Butambala – The First Lady, Janet Museveni, has urged residents of Butambala District to deliver 70 percent of votes for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the upcoming elections, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni resumed his campaign trail in the region.
“I am requesting for 70 percent of the vote,” Maama Janet told a charged crowd at the rally in Bulo Sub-County on Monday.
“Remember that the numbers that have come here for the rally should be the same numbers that go to vote when the time comes. If you vote for NRM, you are voting for unity, peace and stability. When you vote for the opposition, you vote for disunity and conflict.”
She highlighted Uganda’s relative stability in comparison to neighboring countries, many of which continue to experience unrest, leading to the influx of refugees into Uganda.
“We want your children to find this solidarity when they grow up. When we become disunited, we cannot protect our development,” she added.
President Museveni emphasized the NRM’s achievements over the last four decades, pointing to peace, development, wealth creation, and job opportunities as the key pillars. “This peace has come because the NRM does not encourage or support politics of sectarianism,” he said.
“All sub-counties now have electricity and 82 percent of the population has access to safe water. Those who listened to us have made progress by concentrating on private businesses and commercial farming. Even if you have a small piece of land, you can rear goats, chicken, pigs, or do fish farming. Government has jobs, but most jobs are in the private sector.”
Al-Haji Moses Kigongo, NRM Vice Chairperson, called on party leaders to remain disciplined and focused.
“What has brought us here is to request for the votes. Let us be well-disciplined. The opposition wants to destabilize our peace. Leaders should be truthful; what you say is what you should deliver. Let us think about our country first before individualistic gains,” he said.
Speaker of Parliament also NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female) Anita Annet Among praised President Museveni for encouraging leaders to develop their constituencies. She criticized opposition leaders who, she said, neglect their communities.
“Even when you are in opposition, when you lose your seat in Parliament, you will come back to Butambala. If you are a leader, you should have a home where you come from. The MP they have here does not have a home in his constituency.
“The MP I am talking about has gone to build a home in a wetland. The money we are putting in the budget is for developing the youth.
He is moving around telling people to go to the streets after voting on January 15,” she noted.
The rally comes as NRM intensifies its campaigns across the country ahead of the January elections, urging supporters to turn out in large numbers.