The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has warned Senior Presidential Hadijja Namyalo against endorsing President Yoweri Museveni for the 2031 presidential election.
The warning was issued by PLU Secretary General Fadil Twalla following an endorsement by the Office of the National Chairman (ONC) Bugisu team, led by Namyalo, in support of Museveni’s continued leadership beyond 2031.
PLU revealed that such activities conflict with the organisation’s declared plan to have its chairman, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, contest for presidency.
The endorsement was reportedly made during World Tourism Day celebrations in Mbale, where Chris Buyela, representing the ONC Bugisu team, cited Museveni’s contribution to Uganda’s development and youth programmes as reasons for their support.
Twalla said PLU has continued to respect the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and has previously worked with the ruling party under the TukoPamoja arrangement.
“The Patriotic League of Uganda has always respected and followed the guidance of our mother party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM). We also heeded to the call of our Chairman, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to work together with the NRM,” Twalla said.
He recalled that during the previous election, NRM and PLU worked together under TukoPamoja to support Museveni and other NRM candidates from the presidency to the Local Council level.
“In the previous election, the NRM Secretariat and PLU came together under the auspices of TukoPamoja to support not only H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa but all NRM candidates from the Presidency down to LC1,” he said.
Twalla said PLU had previously chosen to overlook what he described as Namyalo’s provocation in Ngoma, Kyankwanzi, in the interest of maintaining unity and supporting Museveni’s leadership.
“Even after your provocation in Ngoma, Kyankwanzi, we chose to ignore you and continued working for unity because we are patriots and we believed in President Museveni leadership,” he said.
He further argued that the TukoPamoja arrangement benefited the NRM in the previous election and suggested that the 2031 election presents a new opportunity for PLU to pursue its own political aspirations through the NRM.
“If you didn’t know, the TukoPamoja arrangement benefited the NRM in the last election and 2031 presents an opportunity for PLU,” Twalla said.
According to Twalla, Muhoozi has directed that PLU’s aspirations should be pursued within the NRM framework, maintaining that the organisation remains a civic organisation.
“Our Chairman has directed that all our aspirations will be realized through the NRM, as PLU remains a civic organization and that hasn’t changed,” he said.
Twalla then made PLU’s position on the 2031 presidential race explicit, saying Muhoozi will be on the ballot and that Museveni would campaign for him.
“I wish to state categorically that Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, our PLU Chairman will be on the ballot in 2031, and that, according to him, the Father of the Nation His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa will be his chief campaigner,” Twalla said.
His statement follows the endorsement campaign by PLU for Muhoozi, with the organisation having launched a National Endorsement Book and begun mobilising supporters across the country in preparation for his anticipated 2031 presidential bid. PLU has said the exercise is aimed at collecting endorsements and signatures from supporters across Uganda’s 146 districts.
The endorsement drive has already attracted support from prominent Ugandans, including businessman Sudhir Ruparelia, who publicly endorsed Muhoozi for the 2031 presidency earlier this month. Muhoozi later thanked Ruparelia for his support.
The latest PLU warning also follows an earlier dispute involving Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda, after she publicly declared that Museveni would remain Uganda’s presidential candidate in 2031 and beyond.
Muhoozi subsequently demanded an apology from Babalanda, accusing her of contradicting his position on the 2031 race and warning that she could lose her job or face arrest.
“I want an apology from Minister Babalanda for spreading falsehoods. Otherwise, she will lose her job!” Muhoozi said in a post on X, according to an earlier Eagle Online report.
He later escalated his warning, saying, “Actually she is in danger of arrest! Let me agree with Mzee.”
The Babalanda controversy came shortly after PLU official and Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda announced that Muhoozi had personally confirmed his intention to contest the presidency in 2031. Kabanda’s announcement coincided with the launch of the PLU National Endorsement Book.
Twalla has now asked Namyalo to stop the unauthorised endorsement campaign for Museveni, warning that such activities could create confusion within the ruling establishment.
“I therefore request that you desist from provoking us and from confusing Ugandans with unsanctioned, attention seeking, ill-intentioned endorsement stunts,” Twalla said.
He also noted with a warning directed at those involved in the competing 2031 mobilisation efforts.
“Let the future not remember you among those who fought against its existence,”he said.
The exchange directly reveals competing public mobilisation efforts within the NRM-linked political establishment, with Namyalo and the ONC Bugisu team backing Museveni while PLU continues its endorsement campaign for Muhoozi ahead of the 2031 presidential election.
