In an unexpected development, President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, Janet Museveni, have apologized to the people of Buganda and Uganda as a whole over the mistakes the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has made over the past four decades.
Museveni’s public apology was read jointly with the First Lady during the Light Up Uganda for Jesus Crusade at Kololo, which brought together all religious faiths for prayers.
The Musevenis showed remorse and sought forgiveness from the public overall for the ills the NRM has caused to the people over the past 40 years.
“God restore the favor that we had with them (people) in the beginning; bring healing to their hearts, soften the hardened hearts, and reconnect us to the original vision of our national unity and unwavering commitment to social and economic transformation of our nation together,” Museveni and his wife jointly read the prayer.
The head of state specifically asked for pardon from the people of Buganda and restoration of the favor he had in Buganda when he first came to power four decades ago.
“As the top leaders of the movement, we humbly take responsibility for all the mistakes made by ourselves, our agents, and our representatives. “Therefore, I stand here to repent and ask for your forgiveness, especially the people of Buganda and the whole country,” Museveni and the First Lady jointly read the apology publicly.
Museveni came to power in 1986 after a guerilla war that lasted five years. The war was mainly in Buganda, where the kingdom and its people were very vital for Museveni’s victory.
Buganda supported Museveni in all ways to ensure capture of power.
Following the bush war, Museveni and the NRM garnered massive support in Buganda in multiple elections held.
However, the 2021 general elections turned out differently for the NRM and Museveni himself. His popular support in Buganda massively shrunk with all NRM ministers losing their parliamentary seats.
Museveni, once a darling in the region, suffered a humiliating defeat by the youngest opposition political party, the National Unity Platform (NUP).
NRM garnered 838,858 votes in Buganda, while the NUP garnered 1,453,535 votes.
Additionally, NUP won 57 parliamentary seats while NRM got only 20.
Analysts say that Museveni has technically isolated Buganda and its aspirations. They argue that the NRM policies have been against the development and transformation of Buganda as a kingdom.
Buganda Kingdom officials have on several occasions publicly expressed the kingdom’s concerns about the government’s delay in returning its properties, which, according to reports, are some of the promises Museveni made to Buganda to gain its support during the bush war.
Analysts say the delay is a deliberate move to cripple the economic development of the kingdom.
Museveni’s public apology comes as the country gears up for the 2026 general elections, which some say is aimed at regaining Buganda’s lost support.
