ABIM. President Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential flag bearer for the 2026 general elections, today officially launched his campaign in the Karamoja Sub-region with a rally at Abim Primary School grounds in Abim District. The event marked the start of his regional campaign trail under the NRM theme: “Protecting the Gains, As We Make a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status”.
Addressing thousands of supporters, President Museveni placed peace and security at the heart of his message, reminding the people of Abim and the wider Karamoja region of the NRM’s long-standing contribution to stability and development over the past four decades.
President Museveni reflected on the turbulent history of the Karamoja sub-region, marked by insecurity and cattle rustling that plagued the area for decades, citing his party’s disarmament campaign as one of its most significant achievements in restoring order and protecting lives.
“The NRM felt very sad for the suffering of the Karamojong,” H.E. Museveni said.
“In Nakapiripirit, there was a woman who had been married to nine husbands, and all of them died in war. That’s why we said the gun must get out of the population, and we removed 41,000 guns from the people of Karamoja,” Gen. Museveni added, while contrasting the disarmament figures with the strength of past national armies to emphasize the magnitude of the operation.
“When Obote was overthrown, his army was 8,000 soldiers. When we defeated Idi Amin in 1980, his army was 20,000. But in Karamoja alone, we recovered 41,000 guns. That was suicide,” President Museveni noted, saying the stability ushered in by NRM policies has directly translated into population growth and improved livelihoods.
“When I came here in 1979, the whole population of Karamoja was 190,000. The Labwor people were fewer than 20,000, but now you’re over 144,000 in Labwor alone. The size of Karamoja is now more than 2.5 million. The population has gone up more than ten times because there has been less instability and more immunization,” he emphasized.
President Museveni added that peace and immunization have been critical drivers of population growth and stability, calling them NRM’s first and most enduring contributions to Uganda’s progress.
The President attributed NRM’s ability to maintain peace to its deliberate rejection of bad politics based on tribe and religion.
“We were able to maintain peace because of good politics, the politics of rejecting sectarianism, which has helped us build national institutions like the Army, Police, Judiciary, and Prisons,” he said, further urging the people of Abim to continue supporting the NRM for sustaining peace and unity.
“If somebody asks you why you vote for the NRM, tell them it’s because of peace,” President Museveni said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Regarding economic infrastructure in the region, H.E. Museveni highlighted progress in connecting Karamoja to the national electricity grid and the expansion of road infrastructure across the region. He recalled his efforts to extend power to Abim, despite initial challenges.
“I struggled to bring electricity here. When the NRM came to power, electricity stopped in Lira, and there was none in West Nile and Karamoja. The Swedish wanted to help us push electricity from Lira to Patongo and Abim, but in 2006, when we had a shortage of power, I told the NRM cadres that we must prioritize roads and electricity, and we did it ourselves,” he said.
Among the completed projects in the region, President Museveni listed the paving of 180.4 kilometers of roads, including the Nadunget–Iriiri (65.6 km), Kokeris–Matany (5.5 km), Namalu–Nakapiripirit (17 km), and Akisim–Moroto–Lokitanyala (92.3 km) roads. Other key routes, such as the Lira–Acanp–Abim (146 km), Soroti–Amuria–Abim (142 km), and Moroto–Abim–Omoro–Gulu (320 km) roads have also been prioritized for regional connectivity.
The President, however, expressed concern over the maintenance of existing roads, blaming poor drainage systems for persistent damage.
“The Ministry of Works has made mistakes in not maintaining the marram roads and not putting in drainage channels. When it rains, the roads become like a swimming pool,” he said, adding that he had instructed the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, to address the issue.
Development through prioritization:
Drawing lessons from his military background, Gen. Museveni emphasized the importance of prioritizing limited national resources to achieve sustainable development.
“Recently, there was a strike by teachers wanting higher salaries, but the road helps all of us. We in the UPDF know how to prioritize,” he said, explaining that when resources were scarce, the government focused on strengthening defense before improving welfare.
“Up to now, there are grass-thatched houses in Gulu barracks, but we said, let’s first buy good weapons. Salaries and good houses can come later. That’s why we can defend ourselves without the UN coming to protect us,” H.E. Museveni added.
He urged citizens to support a disciplined approach to resource allocation, with defense, roads, electricity, railways, schools, and health centers as the top priorities.
“That policy of touching so many things at once is a mistake you should avoid,” he cautioned.
Fixing Water, Health, and Education gaps in Abim:
President Museveni’s address also covered the social infrastructure challenges still facing Abim District. He acknowledged that only 151 of the 534 villages in Abim have access to safe water, representing 28% coverage, while 72% remain without clean water sources.
Major achievements cited in the water sector include the construction of Kawomeri Earth Dam (capacity of 1.3 billion liters), 11 valley tanks, 2 solar-powered irrigation systems (Puno and Akado Kulo), and 2 wind-powered abstraction systems. These interventions, he said, have enhanced livestock watering, irrigation and reduced water stress for over 10,000 residents.
In the health sector, President Museveni noted that Abim currently has one government hospital and three HCIIIs, leaving 12 sub-counties without any health facility.
He listed plans to upgrade and construct new HCIIIs in several locations, including Lotuke, Morulem, Atunga, and Abuk, as well as ongoing upgrades in Awach, Arembwola, and Wilela. He pledged to follow up on why Abim Hospital has not been renovated for years.
Turning to education, President Museveni reported that Abim District has 35 government primary schools and 25 private ones, with five government and three private secondary schools. Of the district’s 72 parishes, only 26 have a government primary school. He was happy to learn that four secondary schools are under construction, which will reduce the number of sub-counties without a government secondary school from 11 to 7.
President Museveni reassured the people of Abim that Uganda’s oil production, set to begin next year, will significantly boost the country’s revenue base and enable the government to fix many pending infrastructure challenges.
“Our oil will start flowing next year, and many development challenges, like the roads, will be fixed,” he said.
The President reiterated his long-standing call for free education in government schools, lamenting that many head teachers still burden children with school fees, which in turn leads to school dropouts. He pointed to the establishment of 19 regional skilling hubs across the country, offering free training in welding, tailoring, carpentry, hairdressing, bakery, and shoe-making. The hub in Napak has so far skilled 1,044 youth in Karamoja.
“These children dropped out of school because of fees, but after six months of training, they can now tailor clothes, make soap, metallic doors, and shoes that we used to import from countries like India and China,” H.E. Museveni said.
President Museveni promised to treat Abim as a special case, noting that the Labwor suffered during cattle rustling despite being largely non-participants in the conflict. He also said each district, including Abim, would receive Shs. 50 million for a SACCO to support graduates from skilling centers.
President Museveni further differentiated between public infrastructure like roads, electricity, and water, and private wealth creation and urged residents to embrace government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) in order to join the money economy.
The President emphasized that while infrastructure remains important, wealth creation at the household level is crucial for individual prosperity.
“Even in Kampala, there are people in the ghettos who don’t have what to eat, yet they have had good roads and electricity for a long time. That’s why I urge you to use government programs like PDM to get out of poverty,” he advised.
According to statistics, Abim District, with 72 parishes, has so far received Shs. 22.2 billion under PDM, of which Shs. 22.1 billion (99.74%) has been disbursed to 22,778 beneficiary households, representing 57 percent of all households. The remaining 17,164 households are yet to benefit.
Abim’s support for President Museveni:
According to official data, Abim District has 16 sub-counties, 72 parishes, and 534 villages with a total population of 144,084, based on the 2024 census. In the 2021 elections, the district had 36,539 registered voters, of whom 24,463 (67%) voted. President Museveni polled 18,254 votes (77.4%), followed by the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate with 3,956 votes (16.8%).
For the 2026 elections, the number of registered voters has risen to 45,726, with polling stations increasing from 105 to 132. NRM officials believe this growing voter base and the region’s visible development record position the party favorably for an even stronger showing.
NRM leaders in Karamoja and Abim welcomed President Museveni’s visit, describing it as a homecoming for a leader who has consistently prioritized the region in his development agenda.
Hon. Lokii John Baptist, NRM Vice Chairperson for Karamoja, thanked the President for maintaining peace in the region through the disarmament campaign.
“You removed illegal guns in Karamoja, which had brought untold suffering and loss of lives. The leaders of Karamoja are ready to protect this peace that you initiated,” Lokii said.
He pledged to increase President Museveni’s support in the region, noting that the NRM secured 77 percent of the presidential votes in Karamoja in 2021.
“We have sat as leaders and want to raise that to over 97 percent in 2026,” Lokii added.
Abim NRM Chairperson, Engorok Obin appealed to the President to rehabilitate Abim Hospital and to extend electricity to the remaining four sub-counties not yet connected to the grid. He also requested compensation for livestock losses similar to that provided to communities in Acholi, Lango, and Teso.