Gen (Rtd). Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the presidential flag bearer for the National Resistance Movement (NRM), has defended his acquisition of the land now hosting the Mbale Industrial Park, rejecting claims that it was taken from local residents.
Speaking on the first day of his campaign in the Bugisu sub-region, in Sironko District, President Museveni explained that the land had previously been used by some leaders as collateral for a loan from an American investor, which was never repaid.
“Nandala Mafabi was running Bugisu Cooperative Union and they got loans from an American. The American wanted to confiscate the land and I bought it,” Museveni said.
“When the Chinese came, I gave them that land to establish an industrial park. Now see how they have transformed the place into a town,” he added.
Museveni said the transformation of Mbale into a growing industrial hub is a product of the NRM’s deliberate development agenda.
“The industrial park has so many factories and industries engaged in manufacturing a range of products, most of which used to be imported. That town where the industrial park sits was born by the NRM, and no one should ever claim otherwise,” the NRM Chairman emphasized.
The President’s remarks came as he officially kicked off his campaign trail in Bugisu after concluding his Teso sub-region campaign in Bukedea District.
The campaigns are running under the theme, “Protecting the Gains, As We Make a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status.”
Addressing thousands of supporters at the Sironko rally, Museveni thanked residents for their continued support and urged them to vote for all NRM flag bearers in the upcoming elections.
“Peace was not easy to achieve. The NRM worked tirelessly for many years, guided by our ideology and commitment to avoid sectarianism. All the development you see in Sironko today has been brought by the NRM,” he said.
The President highlighted major achievements under the NRM government, including the completion of key roads linking Mbale to Kapchorwa and Karamoja, and the Bumbobi–Lwakhakha road.
He also announced that government will soon work on the Namagumba–Budadiri–Nalugugu road to further open up the region.
On access to safe water, Museveni reported that out of 1,543 rural villages in Sironko, 1,374 (89%) now have safe water.
A total of 24 piped water and sanitation systems are operational, benefiting communities such as Mutufu Town Board, Buteza, Pato, Buwalasi, and Buginyanya.
Plans are underway to expand water coverage to the remaining 169 villages and to construct the flagship Nasumati Piped Water Supply and Sanitation System.
In the education sector, the President said Sironko District has 224 parishes, of which 98 have at least one government primary school, while 126 still lack one. There are currently 111 government primary schools serving 98,962 pupils, and 12 secondary schools with 10,660 students.
He pledged that every parish will eventually have a government primary school and each sub-county a secondary school, adding that three new secondary seed schools will be constructed.
On healthcare, Museveni noted that out of Sironko’s 42 sub-counties, two have Health Centre IVs, 18 have Health Centre IIIs, while 22 still lack facilities of HCIII level or above.
Government plans to upgrade several HCII facilities, including Bubbeza, Buyaya, Kyesha, Bugusege, and Nampanga, to HCIII status, and to construct new health centres in underserved areas.
He also outlined strategies to improve immunization, malaria control, and health equipment supply.
Museveni underscored NRM’s efforts to boost agricultural productivity, particularly in coffee, bananas, and milk, attributing the progress to government-backed research and innovation at Kawanda Agricultural Research Centre.
“We have modernized coffee production, improved quality and productivity, and prices have risen due to global market forces. These are achievements of the NRM, not of individuals,” Museveni stated.
Through the Parish Development Model (PDM), Sironko’s 224 parishes have received Shs 68.99 billion, with 98.63% disbursed to 66,809 households.
The district also boasts 36 Emyooga SACCOs with 18,821 members who have received Shs1.54 billion to support enterprise development.
The President reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening education, healthcare, water, roads, and agriculture, and to promoting skills development through Presidential Industrial Hubs.
He revealed that the Bugisu Industrial Hub in Mbale has already trained 1,167 youth in trades such as welding, carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing, and bakery, helping young people create jobs and reduce unemployment.
During the rally, President Museveni also handed over NRM flags to party candidates, including aspiring Members of Parliament, LC V chairperson, councillors, and other local leaders, officially endorsing them for the upcoming elections.
Sironko District NRM Chairperson Lumolo Mafabi, who commended the President for his leadership and called for the upgrading of the district hospital to improve healthcare services.
The event was attended by NRM Central Executive Committee members, Party Secretariat team led by Secretary General Richard Todwong, Ministers, Members of Parliament, religious and cultural leaders, and thousands of enthusiastic supporters who filled the rally grounds to cheer the President as he launched his Bugisu campaign.
