Kampala, September 1, 2026 — Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda has confirmed that Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba will seek the presidency in the 2031 general elections, putting an end to speculation about the military chief’s political plans after the 2026 elections.
Kabanda announced on Tuesday during a press conference involving members and supporters of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), the political pressure group chaired by Gen Kainerugaba.
He said Gen Kainerugaba had sent him to deliver the message and that President Yoweri Museveni had sanctioned the decision.
“Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba is standing for President in 2031, and I must also tell you that it has been sanctioned by His Excellency the President,” Kabanda said.
The announcement comes less than a week after Gen Kainerugaba publicly declared that he would contest for the country’s highest office in 2031.
In posts on X last week, Gen Kainerugaba said he would stand for president and expressed confidence that he would win the election with the support of his father.
He also said President Museveni would serve as his campaign manager.
The statements have brought the question of Uganda’s political succession into sharper focus, particularly within the ruling NRM establishment.
Kabanda delivers Muhoozi’s message
Kabanda, a former secretary general of PLU, has remained one of the most prominent political figures associated with Gen Kainerugaba.
At Tuesday’s meeting, he also announced that Gen Kainerugaba had authorised a meeting with the group that attended the press conference.
Kabanda said the list of MPs invited to the meeting had been generated through the office of the PLU chairman. He also explained that Gen Kainerugaba had initially intended to attend the gathering but was called away for an urgent engagement.
The MP said those who attended would subsequently have an opportunity to meet the PLU chairman.
The developments point to an effort by the movement to strengthen its internal structures as it begins preparing for the political period ahead.
A long-running political project
Gen Kainerugaba’s political ambitions are not new. For years, supporters have campaigned around what was commonly referred to as the “Muhoozi project”, with some openly presenting him as a possible successor to President Museveni.
The movement later developed into PLU, which has established political structures and supporters across the country.
Kabanda has played a prominent role in that process.
In an interview with Daily Monitor published last month, he described President Museveni and Gen Kainerugaba as his political “source” and acknowledged the influence both men have had on his political career.
His latest announcement therefore comes from a politician who has been closely associated with Gen Kainerugaba’s political mobilisation.
Museveni’s role
The claim that President Museveni has sanctioned his son’s planned presidential bid is likely to attract significant political attention.
Museveni has been president since 1986 and was re-elected in the 2026 elections. Whether he will seek another term in 2031 remains an open question.
The government has not announced that Museveni will step aside in favour of Gen Kainerugaba.
When Reuters recently asked whether Museveni would seek another term, government spokesman Alan Kasujja said the President and the NRM would make that decision when the time comes.
This leaves a potentially important distinction between Gen Kainerugaba announcing his intention to run and the NRM formally choosing him as its presidential candidate.
No such nomination has taken place.
Military and political roles
Gen Kainerugaba’s planned presidential bid also raises questions about his current position as Chief of Defence Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
He is simultaneously the chairman of PLU, giving him both a senior military position and a prominent political role.
His political statements and activities have previously drawn criticism from opposition politicians, who have argued that serving military officers should remain non-partisan.
The opposition National Unity Platform, for example, criticised Gen Kainerugaba earlier this year for making political pronouncements while serving as CDF.
Gen Kainerugaba has nevertheless continued to play a visible role in Uganda’s political affairs.
The 2031 race begins early
With five years still remaining before the next presidential election, Tuesday’s announcement effectively moves the 2031 contest into Uganda’s political conversation much earlier than the formal electoral period.
For PLU supporters, the declaration provides a clear political objective around which the movement can organise.
For the NRM, however, the question of succession remains more complicated because President Museveni has not publicly announced whether he intends to retire after his current term.
The party will also eventually have to determine how presidential candidates are selected and whether Gen Kainerugaba will seek the party’s nomination.
For now, Kabanda’s announcement confirms that Gen Kainerugaba intends to be a presidential candidate in 2031.
It also signals that the political machinery associated with him is beginning to organise around that ambition, setting the stage for what could become one of the most closely watched political contests in Uganda’s next electoral cycle.
