Uganda headed on a slippery road if Museveni remains in power

The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party presidential candidate, Maj Gen (rtd) Mugisha Muntu, has asked voters in western Uganda to vote out the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM)government in the January 2026 polls to avoid being victimised in case of regime change.

He warned that the country is headed on a “slippery road” if Gen (rtd) Museveni continues maintaining his grip on power, which he has held for the last 40 years.

Gen Muntu was on Friday addressing his supporters in Bugongi ward, Kabale municipality in Kabale District, where he explained that the NRM government and its leader, President Museveni, have, over the years, rendered Ugandans from the western region vulnerable.

“Vote out President Museveni and his NRM government in the January general elections to avoid being victims of any wrongs he committed during his tenure. History in Uganda tells us that the wrong deeds of a leader are always associated with the people from where he comes. Prepare early enough to avoid being victimised for the wrong deeds of President Museveni once his government is no longer in power,” Gen Muntu said.

The former army commander emphasised that the western region, which includes Kigezi, Ankole, Tooro and Bunyoro, has in the past elections been widely seen as the main supporters of the NRM government, which has been in power since 1986.

He urged the voters from the region to retire Mr Museveni, 81, in next year’s General Election, asking them to look ahead and love Uganda more than Gen (rtd) Museveni because he cannot fulfil what he has failed to do in the 40 years he has been in power.

“Give me votes because I am not a hypocrite or contradictory and principled. I am the medicine for Uganda’s bright future because Uganda is heading for a slippery journey in case the NRM government remains in power after the January General Election,” Gen Muntu said.

Gen Muntu, who was welcomed by the Kabale District’s People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party general secretary, Mr Richard Muhanguzi, further pledged to release all political prisoners, including Dr Col (rtd) Kizza Besigye and his former aide, Mr Sam Mugumya.

“If there was peace in Uganda, Sam Mugumya would not have been kidnapped from a hotel in Mbarara, and up to now nobody knows where he is. Our new government will release all the political prisoners in Uganda. We succeeded in the bush war because we had the mandate of the people, not the mandate of the gun. Recent acts of brutalising the people because of their political ideologies are an indicator that some leaders have succumbed to power drunkenness,” Gen Muntu said.

Gen Muntu promised to boost tourism in the Kigezi Sub-region through proper marketing channels and improved road infrastructure to compete with the other East African countries that are already doing it to generate more income for the country.

“We shall invest in the advertising of tourism attractions Uganda has in the Kigezi region and other parts of the country so that we can earn much from it. There is no way one expects to get more milk from a cow that is not well fed,” Gen Muntu said.