IGANGA.President Museveni on Saturday lost his cool and tasked ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders in Busoga Sub Region to explain why former Speaker of Parliament and Kamuli District Woman MP Rebecca Kadaga and State Minister for Lands Persis Namuganza were not invited to attend his meeting in the area .
This, Mr Museveni said was a manifestation that the internal divisions he has personally tried to fight among party leaders ,still persist .
The President made the remarks while addressing National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders from across Busoga at Iganga Secondary School.
The meeting, intended to discuss regional development and campaign mobilisation, was largely attended by leaders aligned with Speaker of Parliament and NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female), Anita Among.
During the meeting President Museveni revealed that Namuganza, who had originally proposed the regional leaders’ meeting to discuss poverty eradication, was not present.
“It was Namuganza who told me to hold a regional leaders’ meeting to tell you leaders how to fight poverty, but I wonder why she is not here,” Museveni said.
He also disclosed that he had personally contacted Kadaga before the meeting. Kadaga reportedly told Mr Museveni she had not received an invitation, prompting Museveni to check with Speaker Among and the NRM Iganga Chairperson , who confirmed that invitations had been sent through district party structures.
“I spoke to my sister Rebecca when I was coming here and she told me she wasn’t invited. I immediately called Speaker Anita Among, who said every leader was invited,” he said.
Museveni used the occasion to urge humility among Busoga leaders, warning that internal disputes have entrenched poverty in the sub-region.
“Leaders should learn to be humble. If I wasn’t humble, I would not have managed to govern Uganda,” he said, likening the divisions to a Kinyankole proverb cautioning against looking back while working, which he said leads to failure.
The President explained that his visit to Busoga was part of a nationwide campaign to promote wealth creation and poverty eradication, guided by the government’s seven pillars, including peace, patriotism, national unity, and socio-economic transformation.
Campaign leaders assured Museveni that mobilisation efforts were progressing well.
Third Deputy Prime Minister Lukia Nakadama said, “We have done our part, and I am pretty sure this year’s results will be better than the 2021 results,” while campaign official Dorothy Kisaka urged residents to vote in large numbers for President Museveni and the NRM.
The Kadaga–Among rivalry, which dates back to 2021 when Among allied with the late Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah to unseat Kadaga from the Speakership, continues to influence NRM politics in Busoga sub region which is currently considered as an opposition stronghold.
The rivalry intensified during the race for NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female), which Among won decisively.
Since then, the party has operated in parallel camps, a split that became particularly visible during recent NRM primaries. Several incumbents aligned with Among, including Milton Muwuma and Livingstone Zijjan, were defeated.
Political analysts warn that unless reconciliation efforts are undertaken, the deepening divisions could undermine NRM’s performance in Busoga in next Thursday General Election .