Why Museveni support in fishing communities rose to 63%

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Leaders of fishermen and women gathered in Entebbe municipality on January 25, 2026, to celebrate President Yoweri Museveni's victory after he was declared the winner of the just concluded General Election with a whooping 71.65%. 

The landslide win was attributed to several factors, among which include his deliberate sensitisation and support programmes to the fishing communities around several landing sites across the country.

Converging at the office of the fisheries co-ordinator, under the State House, the leaders said President Museveni garnered over 63% of the total votes across the fishing communities in the just-concluded elections. 

"This score is way above the 28% votes that he got in 2021 from the fishing communities," Eli Wasajja, a fisherman from Kalangala district, said.

Wasajja, who is also the spokesperson of the 'Abavubi ku Museveni' campaign, pointed out several areas dominated by fishing communities where President Museveni got a higher vote than his competitors as well as legislators who won on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket. 

"In Kalangala for example, NRM reclaimed its victory in Bujumba and Kyamuswa counties as well as consolidating its win in the other island-district of Buvuma," Wasajja stated. 

Other areas include Entebbe municipality, where NRM flag-bearer Steven Shaka won, and Busiro County South, where one Kenan Opio also won on the NRM ticket. Both electoral areas have several landing sites within and around their geographical boundaries.

The same was echoed by Musa Gamole, the chairperson of 'Abavubi ku Museveni' campaign, who noted that apart from the fishing communities around Lake Victoria, others around Lakes Kyoga, Edward and George also unanimously voted for Museveni. 

"This has mainly been as a result of the deliberate sensitisation sessions imparted by Lt Col Mercy Tukahirwa. She explained how the water bodies were such a shared resource for all Ugandans to benefit. Under her leadership, the fishing communities have had a constructive dialogue with the soldiers rather than adversarial approaches," Gamole said.

While in Jinja city on August 5, 2025, President Museveni met several leaders representing the fishing communities across the country and laid down what was later adopted as a 10-point programme aimed at enhancing Uganda's fishing sector. The president directed that indigenous fishermen were to manage Uganda's lakes, with assistance from Col. Tukahirwa's office, which was subsequently placed under Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso in the State House.

President Museveni also proposed organising indigenous fishing communities into SACCOs, with the Government committing shillings one billion per SACCO. He emphasised the need for strategic planning of landing sites, proposing the creation of boarding schools in island regions such as Kalangala and Buvuma, to be coordinated by the prime minister's office.

According to Tukahirwa, there are ongoing plans to establish skills development centres for youths in fishing communities and promote domestic fish farming projects, aimed at mitigating pressure on natural lakes and creating employment opportunities. 

Such deliberate initiatives, according to Harriet Kyabayigwa, a fish dealer in Kalangala, have seen President Museveni and the NRM regain people's trust in the fishing communities.

At the start of the general campaigns, Ugandans from different fishing communities mooted a campaign dubbed 'Abavubi ku Museveni,' loosely translated as "Fishermen/women for Museveni." 

Co-ordinated by Tukahirwa, then heading the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). The campaign took root in all the gazetted landing sites across Uganda.

Even when the FPU was disbanded in December 2025, the campaign was carried on, with several other programmes aimed at uplifting the status of fishermen and women. With president Museveni's commitment to providing sh1b to each district having gazetted landing sites, Lt Col Tukahirwa's office is envisaged to continue coordinating the government's programmes aimed at relieving pressure off the country's waterbodies.