President Yoweri Museveni has called on leaders of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the Busoga sub-region to put aside personal differences and lead with humility, warning that internal conflicts only deepen poverty and slow development.
Speaking to NRM leaders from all Busoga districts at Iganga Girls’ Secondary School on Saturday, Museveni said arrogance and infighting among leaders undermine effective governance and hurt ordinary citizens who rely on political stability to improve their lives.
He stressed that humility is a cornerstone of leadership, saying it had been central to his own long stay in power.
Museveni, who has led Uganda for four decades and is seeking another term, said unity among political leaders is not a matter of choice but a necessity for progress.
“I ask you to be humble as leaders. If I were not humble, I would not have managed Uganda,” Museveni said.
He cautioned that when leaders focus on quarrels, it is the poor who bear the consequences, as disjointed leadership delays efforts to address poverty and service delivery.
He noted that while wealthy individuals can afford political disagreements because their basic needs are secure, the poor suffer daily from the effects of disunity.
According to Museveni, prolonged poverty can even cost lives, making unity among leaders a moral responsibility.
The President’s remarks were directed at long-standing political rivalries within Busoga that have repeatedly weakened cohesion within the ruling party.
He contrasted the situation with other regions—such as Bukedi, Lango, Bugisu, West Nile and Acholi—where similar NRM mobilisation meetings had been held with fewer visible divisions despite differing political views.
Museveni revealed that the Busoga meeting had been organised following a request from the State Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Persis Namuganza, but said the same divisions the meeting was meant to resolve later disrupted the process.
He expressed disappointment that Namuganza, who had pushed for the meeting to be held in the region, did not attend.
He also recounted his personal involvement in addressing confusion over invitations, particularly concerning First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga.
Museveni said Kadaga informed him she had not been invited, prompting him to seek clarification from the Speaker of Parliament, who maintained that all flag bearers had been invited.
According to Museveni, the issue later shifted to how the invitations were communicated. He urged Busoga’s NRM leadership to resolve these issues, work together and refocus on serving the people rather than fuelling divisions.
