EDITOR
President Yoweri Museveni has strongly condemned the irregularities reported during the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries held on July 17, 2025, vowing to take strict action against those responsible.
In a comprehensive message to NRM members following the elections, Museveni expressed deep concern over what he termed “unpatriotic actors” who undermined the party’s democratic process through manipulating results, tampering with voter registers, bribing voters, and resorting to violence.
“These actions are politically and ideologically wrong and must be condemned by all true supporters of the NRM and Uganda,” Museveni stated. He revealed that 9.22 million members took part in the primaries—a turnout he praised as impressive considering the voting was conducted mid-week on a working day. However, this number amounts to about 50% of the confirmed 18.5 million NRM members.
Museveni highlighted several serious issues, including the alteration of election results despite the transparent public lining-up behind candidates, tampering with voter registers that appeared inflated despite a cleanup exercise on May 6, 2025, incidents of violence causing injuries and deaths, and the use of money and goods to influence voters.
He ordered the prosecution of all individuals involved in these electoral offenses, starting with those who manipulated results openly. Noting that the entire village knew how people voted during the lining-up, he warned, “It is not just the registrar who knows the results village by village. If you altered them, we are coming after you.”
The president also vowed to pursue those responsible for the violence, especially as many incidents were witnessed publicly. He called for investigations into the role of soldiers and police officers, questioning whether any security forces acted in error or if violence was incited by hired thugs linked to failing political figures.
Further scrutiny of the voter registers was also demanded, as irregularities were found despite earlier verification efforts. Beyond the primaries, Museveni reminded party members that the main purpose of electing leaders is to address the people’s problems—a process he referred to as kukyenuura.
He cited successes such as the eradication of polio and measles through immunization programs, the elimination of shortages of essential goods via liberalization, resolution of Uganda’s refugee crisis through reconciliation, and improved livelihoods through wealth creation initiatives like the Parish Development Model.
Museveni emphasized that only leaders and parties capable of effectively implementing government programs to solve the people’s problems deserve electoral support. “The goal of electing leaders is to wisely select those who can address the solvable problems of the citizens,” he said. Despite the challenges, Museveni ended on a positive note, observing that voting went smoothly in many parts of the country.
