Museveni set to close NRM campaign in Adjumani West by-election

ADJUMANI — With polling day approaching and local concerns over roads, connectivity and a long-awaited bridge dominating conversations in communities, President Yoweri Museveni is due in Adjumani West on Tuesday to rally support for the ruling National Resistance Movement’s candidate in a closely watched parliamentary by-election.
Museveni, who is also chairman of the NRM, is scheduled to campaign for James Pilli Leku on 15 September, two days before voters go to the polls on 17 September.
The rally will mark the final stage of the NRM’s campaign for Leku, as party officials conduct a village-to-village mobilisation drive across the constituency.
NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda Hamson Obua, Director of Mobilisation and Cadre Development Rosemary Sseninde, Senior Manager of Publicity Rogers Mulindwa and district party leaders have been leading the mobilisation effort.
Obua said preparations for the president’s visit included community meetings and radio programmes intended to encourage residents to attend the rally.
“We have held a number of preparatory meetings, and we are yet to hold more,” Obua said, adding that radio engagements had also been used to mobilise residents.
But the campaign has also highlighted infrastructure challenges facing the area, with Obua identifying a proposed bridge linking Adjumani with other parts of West Nile as one of the most pressing concerns raised during the grassroots outreach.
“The most key and pressing matter is the issue of the bridge,” he said, adding that the project remains at a preliminary stage under the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Obua also urged NRM leaders and supporters to maintain unity, arguing that internal divisions could affect development and service delivery.
Sseninde said the village-level campaign had allowed party officials to engage voters directly and had increased confidence in Leku’s chances.
“We have moved village by village. We have been able to reach down to the people,” she said.
Leku, meanwhile, has presented himself as a candidate who would continue development initiatives associated with the late Gen. Moses Ali, who represented the constituency for many years.
He said his familiarity with Ali’s plans would help him build on the former representative’s legacy if elected.
“I know most of his plans, and I hope to use the plans that he has left behind to enforce some of the things that I’m going to do in Adjumani,” Leku said.
Mulindwa said the NRM was seeking to translate the support Museveni received in the area during the general elections into votes for Leku in the by-election.
The Adjumani West contest comes as parties and candidates make their final appeals to voters ahead of Thursday’s poll, with the NRM seeking to retain its influence in the constituency.
Museveni’s appearance is expected to give the ruling party’s campaign a high-profile final push before voters cast their ballots.