RDCs tasked to increase Museveni’s 2026 support in Central

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Resident District Commissioners-RDCs/RCC’s  and Intelligence Officers in the Central Region have been asked to work harder to increase the number of votes for incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni so as to extend his leadership beyond 2026 elections.

According to the Permanent Secretary in the office of the  President  Hajji Yunus Kakande, the  National Resistance Movement -NRM has got a challenge in Central where most of the people are youth and need to be mobilised right away from the grassroots as  RDCs and  the intelligence officers monitor and evaluate the implementation of government programs.

Kakande said these youth need to be reoriented  because the  elections are already fixed for January 2026 which is not far from today.

“It’s upon you to talk to the youth because they are the ones who support the opposition more. Orient them about the development which is being steered by the ruling government”, said Kakande.

Kakande made the remarks while officiating at the  two days  Capacity Building Workshop of Resident District Commissioners/Resident City Commissioners and their Deputies , District Internal Security Officers and Regional Internal Security Officers  from Central Region in Mukono .

He explained that where he voted from during the 2021 elections , the opposition scored the majority of the votes. However , that while on queue , Kakande was the only old person lining up with majority of the people who were the youth and they reportedly mimicked that he was not of their side (opposition) because of his old  age looks.

According to the Electoral Commission results, Museveni obtained 5.8 million votes out of the 9.9 votes cast while his closest challenger Robert Kyagulanyi who stood on the NUP ticket scored 3.4 million votes.  The data further shows that NRM received a paltry 35 percent in the central Region while Kyagulanyi secured 62.01 percent.

Hajji Kakande has tasked the RDCs and DISO’s  to identify gaps where the government is not doing well as an institution and ensure that there is timely delivery of services.

He said the longer the NRM government stays in power especially with Museveni it is for the betterment of the country.

The Permanent Secretary said they need to sensitize the ordinary people regarding developmental government programs such as the Parish Development Model and the progress on the implementation of the NRM Manifesto among others.

“As RDCs it’s high time you stayed on the ground and very soon we are going to get you “lieutenants” to help on the ground to mobilize and sensitize people about the programs of the government like the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga,” said Kakande.

He said where they see corrupt individuals and anyone who wants to fail the government programs, they should report with evidence to the Criminal Investigations Department of Police or Inspector General of Government rather than writing to Intelligence reports where no action has been taken.

The message to RDCs and Intelligence Officers creates contradictions as the public expects them to be like soldiers and the police mandated to serve the state, not political parties or individuals.

Former Vice President,  Dr Specioza Wandira Kazibwe who made a presentation on Population Health and Wellness appealed to RDCs to understand what they are doing and to respect one another while executing their duties.

She explained that security men need to translate what they are doing at their places of work to the language the people understand or else they will keep clapping hands at them at events but nothing will change.

Dr. Wandira Kazibwe advised men to desist from polygamy saying that she did  Research on sexual psychology which nobody was willing to supervise but found that men who have many women cannot satisfy any of them.

Kazibwe said sex is good for their mental health. She further gave them wellness tips that they need to practice if they are to live longer.

Dr. Wandira Kazibwe who is the Special Presidential Advisor on Population Health suggested that the government must shift from health systems designed around disease and institutions towards health systems designed for people with the people.

“The government at all levels must underscore the importance of action beyond the health sector to pursue a whole of government approach to health, including health-in-all-policies and a strong focus on equity and interventions that encompasses the entire life course,” she said.

The head of the RDC Secretariat,  Maj.  Martha Asiimwe noted the Secretariat will continue to guide the commissioners so that they rightly execute their roles.

“The conversation is very important between the people you work with and those you lead. We can at times discuss challenges one on one, they must be handled as they arise. We should not wait for an opportunity like this one because we may not be able to resolve the challenges impeding our performance,” said  Asiimwe .

The Dean of RDC Justine Mbabazi has described some of the challenges they are facing. Those included being denied airtime(space ) in some media platforms to communicate government programs, infighting by RDCs whereby the  seniors are fighting with their Deputies, and the NRM members being divided.

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