Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has accused the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) of employing a calculated strategy aimed at forcefully reclaiming Buganda and bringing the region back into the party's political fold.
Speaking during NBS Morning Breeze on Tuesday, Lukwago dismissed the "Buganda for Museveni" campaign as a political scheme designed to undermine the region's long-standing opposition dominance.
"The mantra of Buganda for Museveni is basically a strategy to grab the region by force in order to take it back to the NRM fold," he said.
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Lukwago emphasized that Buganda has historically remained a stronghold of the opposition, noting that the ruling party's challenges in the region are not new.
"The opposition grip on Buganda has always been there. It's only that the internal issues we have within the opposition may play into the hands of the NRM," he said.
Lukwago also questioned the gains the NRM is protecting in Buganda, arguing that key economic sectors have been neglected despite their importance to the region.
Using coffee as an example, the Lord Mayor criticised the government for failing to prioritize the crop, which is a major economic backbone for many communities in Buganda.
"When you talk about coffee, for example, that's where the government should have put emphasis. Instead, UCDA is no more," Lukwago said, referring to the dissolution of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
Lukwago suggested that the removal of critical institutions without viable alternatives has hurt farmers and weakened trust in government commitments to economic transformation.
In response, NRM Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja Nsereko, acknowledged that the ruling performed poorly in Buganda during the last elections, attributing the losses largely to internal party divisions and vote-splitting caused by multiple NRM-leaning candidates contesting the same seats after disputed primaries.
She said the party recognised these setbacks early and has since worked to improve unity and cohesion, noting that while challenges remain, the NRM is now in a much stronger position internally.
Namayanja further expressed confidence that lessons learned from past elections and renewed party unity will better position the NRM ahead of the January 15, 2026 polls.
In the last elections, the NRM suffered a major setback in Buganda, securing only 35% of the presidential vote and winning just 31 out of 105 parliamentary seats in the region.
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This marked a sharp decline from previous years, where the party had received around 69% in 2011 and 80% in 2006.
The poor performance was largely attributed to the rise of Robert Kyagulanyi's National Unity Platform (NUP), widespread youth support for the opposition, concerns over land grabbing, and internal divisions within the NRM caused by losing candidates running as independents.
Lukwago's remarks reflect deep opposition skepticism toward the NRM's renewed push in Buganda, portraying it as a forceful political maneuver rather than a response to genuine regional concerns.
