NRM top brass rejoice in Rwakitura at Museveni’s victory

KIRUHURA - Flashback time. It was a celebratory mood at President Yoweri Museveni’s country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura district, last Saturday (January 18) after winning a seventh term.

His National Resistance Movement (NRM) top brass, donning yellow-coloured attire, the party’s signature, started arriving at his home, that is in a tranquil rural setting, at 11:00am.

They all walked through a metal detector to enter his spacious compound that is dotted with trees.

Others raised their arms to permit the security officers to frisk them after walking through the metal detector, and those with bags had them scanned.

Breakfast was served in the different tents from 11:00am till 1:27pm when the Mugole (President-elect) emerged from the house with the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs. Janet Museveni.

The First family during prayer. (All Photos by Joseph Mutebi)

Dressed in charcoal-grey trousers, a long-sleeved yellow shirt and black shoes, Museveni marched from his house to his special tent that was a few metres away from a giant tent where top NRM leaders and journalists sat.

The NRM leaders, who were in a state of great excitement as they waited for him to join them, sprang to their feet the moment Museveni, who is also their party national chairman, emerged, with his beaming face telling its own story.

As he marched towards them, they danced, cheered and quite literally jumped for joy. Others like Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo, the head of the Office of the NRM national chairman, clapped joyfully to the beat of the music and sang along to revolutionary songs.

“I am very happy that we have won a resounding election victory. I count myself lucky to head such an office of bazzukulu (grandchildren) that worked tirelessly to see to it that the President seeks re-election,” Namyalo told New Vision in an interview.

She noted that they stomached massive insults and dealt with a string of rejections when they started the campaign in August 2022, when she had just been appointed and that their campaign took several twists and turns.

“We encountered considerable resistance even from within the NRM, but we never gave up. We put up a strong fight and eventually won,” Namyalo, who was also heading Museveni’s voter protection task force countrywide, said.

Speech time 

As it became a tradition on the campaign trail around the country, Museveni asked the First Lady and the Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs. Janet Museveni, to greet the NRM leaders first before he addressed them.

“Before I address you, let me ask Maama to greet you, to welcome you to our home here,” he said, drawing thunderous applause. This was at 2:30pm.

And before she could greet the gathering, the First Lady said, “Let me ask you to thank Mzee for me for always making room for me (applause) because I have no room here, I have no business really here but he always makes room for me to say something and so I want to say to the President-elect and all the extended family of the NRM good afternoon to you all and congratulations to you all.”

She welcomed everyone to “our village and to this compound”.

She called on leaders to remain faithful to God and recommit themselves to guiding Ugandans on the right path.

“I am deeply grateful to God for allowing this to be the first programme of this Kisanja (term), where we meet with the central executive committee and the secretariat to first thank Him, because only God made this possible,” Mrs. Museveni said.

She said the gathering was an opportunity not only to give thanks to God, but also to appreciate the collective effort that led to the victory.

Museveni hails First Lady

At 2:35pm, Museveni addressed the gathering and hailed the First Lady for always praying for him to succeed.

He said that when the Banyankole would go to war, the wife would remain praying traditionally.

“Because the wife is the one who keeps praying, and if you die there, they would say she is not a good woman. The Banyankole were always blaming women for everything,” he said, causing laughter.

“So, that is why I must always remember…because she is the one who keeps praying,” Museveni added.

He apologised to the gathering for being in the tents, which he said were very hot. “I am not comfortable inside these tents; these tents are very hot. If we were under the trees, we would be much cooler. This is not Rwakitura; this is the tents. So, you blame the tents,” Museveni told his guests.

Museveni, 81, won with 71.65% of the vote in the general election held on January 15, 2026, which is close to his highest-ever tally of 74% in the country’s first general election in 1996.

His chief rival, Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, garnered 24.72% in a race that had six other candidates.

Museveni, who officially received the declaration of result certificate from the NRM leaders, thanked God for the resounding victory and all the victories they have had in the last 55 years of the struggle since 1971.

He also thanked the NRM members and all their leaders generally for playing a critical role in this victory.

Others he thanked were armed forces for maintaining peace and the religious leaders for praying for his win. He also thanked the cultural leaders for being very responsive and working for peace.

Vice President Jessica Alupo praised God for the day and thanked the President for the warm entertainment.

“In a day like this, we can only say glory be to God, and thanks be to God. Your Excellency, allow me to thank you for inviting us here to listen to you as you speak to the country. We have indeed been warmly entertained from the time we arrived here, and we want to say thank you,” she said. 

Singing religious songs

Members of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, led by the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, and the general overseer of the National Fellowship of the Born-Again Pentecostal Churches of Uganda, Bishop Joshua Lwere, set the tone for the event by leading the gathering in a word of prayer.

They congratulated the President-elect and asked God to continue blessing his leadership and him with good health and long life. They also prayed to God to grant Museveni wisdom and compassion in making decisions.

Bishop Lwere led the gathering in singing the popular Luganda Christian revival praise song of Tukutendereza Yesu (We praise you Jesus), and that which says, To God be the Glory.