President Museveni Opens NRM MPs’ Retreat, Vows To Crush Corruption And Strengthen Party Ideology
Kyankwanzi, Uganda – April 8, 2026 – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni today officially opened a week-long retreat for newly elected NRM Members of Parliament and party-leaning independents at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi, calling on legislators to deepen their understanding of party principles and tackle corruption head-on.
The retreat, themed “Aligning the NRM leadership towards protecting the gains and making a bold, qualitative leap towards a higher middle-income status society”, is designed to equip MPs with ideological clarity and policy direction as they step into the 12th Parliament.
On arrival, President Museveni was welcomed by Vice President Jessica Alupo, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong, and members of the Central Executive Committee.
In his keynote, Museveni congratulated the legislators on their electoral victories but urged them to reflect on areas needing improvement. He also paid tribute to fallen party leaders from Kikube and Abim, describing their deaths as setbacks for the movement.
“You are now not only followers of the NRM but leaders. A follower may support some aspects of the movement without going deep, but a leader must understand the ideology, philosophy, and strategy,” Museveni told MPs. He likened the retreat to a “seminary,” aimed at grounding leaders in the party’s core principles.
The President unpacked the components of effective leadership. He said ideology is about diagnosing societal problems like a doctor diagnosing a patient, philosophy involves understanding human motivations, and strategy is applying the right methods to address challenges.
On economic prosperity, Museveni was blunt: dependency and corruption have no place. “Every adult must produce a good or service and earn from it. Prosperity does not come from begging or stealing,” he said. He stressed the importance of markets and warned against identity-based politics, noting that tribal and religious divisions can restrict trade.
He urged MPs to champion regional and continental integration, including EAC and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), arguing that unity strengthens Africa while fragmentation breeds weakness.
Museveni outlined the NRM’s four ideological pillars—patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy—as the roadmap for Africa’s historical mission: prosperity, strategic security, and brotherhood. Reflecting on Uganda’s colonial past, he reminded participants that Africa’s current generation bears the responsibility to lift the continent from poverty and underdevelopment.
On economic strategy, he reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to private-sector-led growth, identifying commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT as the key wealth-creation sectors.
Corruption emerged as a central theme. Museveni warned that mismanagement of funds, including those under the Parish Development Model (PDM), threatens government programmes. “If you are corrupt, you not only waste resources but set a bad example. I will not tolerate it,” he said. Drawing from personal experience, he cited hard work and self-reliance as the route to success, recounting how 22 cows given to him by his father in 1965 multiplied into thousands today.
Vice President Alupo, who chaired the session, welcomed the President and hailed the retreat as a long-awaited opportunity for MPs to receive guidance from the party chairman. Secretary General Todwong echoed the welcome, praising Museveni for steering a successful electoral campaign and outlining plans to present detailed results to participants.
Newly elected Women MP for Masaka City, Justine Nameere, raised concerns over corruption in the health sector, particularly the disappearance of medicines in regional referral hospitals. Museveni assured strict measures against such malpractice.
“Corruption, including theft of drugs in government hospitals, shall be tackled very seriously,” he affirmed.
The retreat continues throughout the week, focusing on ideological training, strategic planning, and accountability mechanisms to ensure NRM legislators deliver on their mandate.
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