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President Yoweri Museveni recently spoke at campaign rallies in support of Samuel Engola Okello Junior, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate for the Oyam North Parliamentary By-Election. Museveni emphasized that NRM’s politics are based on science and aimed at resolving the issues faced by Ugandans. The NRM Secretary General reported that the campaign had been peaceful, and over 900 members of the opposition Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) had defected to the NRM.

According to President Yoweri Museveni, the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) politics are based on science, not speculation, and they are aimed at resolving Ugandans’ issues.

“From the beginning we were telling you that we are here for your good. I’m not here to look for anything because I have got everything in my home. Even when we were fighting Idi Amin, we were not looking for anything personal. When Amin took power in 1971, I was working in the President’s Office. I had been recruited by somebody from here, Mzee Abdallah Anyuru. When Amin came, we could have stayed there; opportunistically working for the new government but we said no we are looking for value not position or money. I can get money from my cows, I don’t need money from the government since it’s small and cows’ money is more,” President Museveni said.

The President revealed the information yesterday 5^th July 2023 while supporting Samuel Engola Okello Junior, the NRM candidate for the Oyam North Parliamentary By-Election, during a rally held at Tegony Primary School in Iceme Town Council in Oyam North.

Samuel Engola Junior is the son of Col. (Rtd) Charles Engola Okello, a former state minister for labor, employment, and industrial relations who was shot dead by his bodyguard in May of this year at his home in Kyanja, a Kampala suburb. Charles Engola Okello was also a former local member of parliament. The President stated that NRM’s participation in leadership is a result of their ability to treat people’s problems.

“When leaders come and say they want to lead, you should look at them and gauge them because many leaders, once elected, normally find it easy to talk about “Dongo Lobo” (development). When I come here, I can see how many elements of “Dongo Lobo” are on the ground. I can see roads, schools among other infrastructure,” he added.

President Museveni reaffirmed that the NRM government has a package of solutions for Uganda’s challenges while speaking at a second campaign rally held at Otwal Primary School in Otwal Sub-County.

“You should constantly pay close attention to what we have to say. I can’t simply suggest that Engola Junior should be elected as a member of parliament or that NRM should be supported. I’m here because I’m confident that the NRM has a set of answers to our issues. He argued that the NRM is the only group capable of establishing and maintaining peace.

“The late Okello Engola believed in peace that is why he fought here, and you gave him that name ‘Macodwogo’. He was fighting for peace. Now if you want peace, the next question should be which leaders can help you achieve that? Because if you get wrong leaders, you will not get peace and you hear what is happening in most parts of Africa. Don’t think those people are stupid or, they simply made mistakes for not solving the issue of leadership,” Museveni added.

The President continued by saying that the NRM government opted to concentrate on development and educate its people on how to fight poverty by generating money after attaining peace and effective leadership. “Many leaders err by focusing solely on their own development. When you attend a public meeting, topics like the road, the hospital, the schools, and so on are discussed. The President said, “That is good, but it’s not enough.”

For this reason, he stated that while development is necessary, there are other things they must also undertake. And this is where the “Lonyo” (wealth) issue comes into play. Lonyo is different from Dongo Lobo because Lonyo belongs to me, but Dongo Lobo belongs to us. You may have a good road in the area, and you travel on it but the poverty you left at your home in the morning, welcomes you in the evening.”

President Museveni also emphasized the value of education, calling it one of the factors that contributes to a society’s growth and prosperity. “We introduced Education for all-UPE for that reason. And while we have been warning you that forcing impoverished children to pay for their education would interfere with their ability to learn, some people choose not to heed our warnings. They continue to charge school fees, but we will launch a new campaign to end those school fees,” he declared.

“After dealing with these issues, you add health, which includes vaccination, where you may eradicate a great number of illnesses. In order to prevent our granddaughters from developing uterine cancer as they get older, we may now be immunizing against 13 diseases, including the one we introduced a few years ago. Therefore, all young females ought to go get vaccinated so that they might get lifetime immunity against that cancer. Therefore, you should place more emphasis on prevention than on waiting until you are ill before seeking medical attention.”

The President, on the other hand, compared Okello Junior to the disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, and others who were Christ’s followers but carried on his tasks after his death. He claimed that since Junior was close to his father Okello Engola, he “might be a disciple of his father.”

In his brief remarks, Okello Engola Junior promised the electorate that he would carry on his father’s work, flanked by his wife Sharon. He promised Oyam North residents’ strong representation in Parliament. The NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong had already told the President that the campaign had been peaceful from beginning.

“Your Excellency, when the Electoral Commission declared this seat vacant, our party Electoral Commission headed by Dr. Tanga Odoi put out an announcement and in total we got 10 aspirants people who expressed interest to contest in Oyam North, but we need to thank them that out of the 10, with consultations and advice, we ended up with one candidate. All these candidates accepted that we should rally behind Okello,” he said.

Additionally, Todwong revealed that more than 900 members of the opposition Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) had defected to the NRM. “Our friends from other political parties, particularly from the Uganda People’s Congress, particularly the leaders, opted to join the National Resistance Movement when we were running for office in Oyam North. We have 900 UPC converts in all,” he stated.

Rosemary Nansubuga Seninde, the NRM Director in charge of Mobilization, remarked, “Your Excellency, allow me to thank you for the help that you have offered. We have arrived at this point thanks to the resources you have provided. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Secretary General and my NRM Secretariat coworkers, with whom we have collaborated closely to ensure that we reach where we are.”

The people of Oyam North will be going to the polls this Thursday, July 6 to vote for their next MP following the death of Col. (Rtd) Charles Engola in May this year.