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Youths in Kampala have been urged to rally behind the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and help the party reclaim leadership of the city in the 2026 General Election, after more than two decades of Opposition dominance.
The call was made on Monday, January 12, 2026, by NRM mayoral contenders at the Pearl of Africa Hotel in Kampala, ahead of the Youth Leaders Conference scheduled for today, January 13, 2026, at the same venue. The conference, themed: Youth Power Decide 2026, is sponsored by Aya Group of Companies.
The youth are expected to converge at the hotel before escorting President Yoweri Museveni to Kololo Independence Grounds, where he is expected to hold his final campaign rally ahead of the January 15 elections.
Kampala Lord Mayor candidate Moses Kizito Nsubuga said the NRM has programmes aimed at addressing challenges affecting young people in the city, including unemployment. He stated that the future of the NRM lies in the hands of the youth.
“We need to take over Kampala because we have a number of interventions for the youth,” Nsubuga said, urging them to end what he described as 27 years of Opposition dominance in Kampala City by voting for Museveni and NRM candidates.
He also urged the youth to support NRM flag-bearers in the Kampala divisional mayoral races, saying an NRM-led city administration would address unemployment, poor drainage, garbage management and other service delivery challenges in Kampala.
The Kampala divisional mayoral contestants are Faruk Bulime (Kawempe), Susan Zawedde (Nakawa), Salim Saad Uhuru (Kampala Central), Mahad Kawesa (Rubaga), and Yasin Omari, who was declared unopposed as Mayor of Makindye Division after the Electoral Commission disqualified 11 other mayoral candidates.
The disqualifications were based on several grounds, including failure to obtain the mandatory 20 signatures from each parish, registration of non-residents of Makindye, and other electoral irregularities.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) 2025 report, youths aged 15 to 30 constitute 31% of Uganda’s population (approximately 14 million people). UBOS notes that while this group holds immense potential for national development, many young people face persistent challenges and limited participation in decision-making.
Nakawa Division Mayor contestant Susan Zawedde said the youth are the pillars of the nation and urged them to rally behind NRM under the slogan of “protecting the gains.” She emphasised the need for patriotism, unity, and strengthening the nation.
Former Bamunanika County MP Ali Ndawula Sekyanzi thanked Aya Group of Companies chairperson Mohammed Hamid for supporting NRM flag-bearers, whom he said would sustain the peace and stability the country has enjoyed for the past four decades.
Sekyanzi urged the youth to take advantage of existing Government programmes and funds at both national and international levels.
He pledged to work with NRM divisional mayoral contestants to ensure youth funds are equitably distributed across Kampala’s divisions.
“We shall make Kampala yellow on election day,” Sekyanzi stated.
Aya Group of Companies boss Mohammed Hamid said his company would continue supporting initiatives aimed at empowering the youth and strengthening the NRM movement.
Hamid said over 15,000 youths have been mobilised over the past month and will be in attendance at the conference.
He explained that the conference aims to empower young people to make mature decisions and to encourage them to vote for unity and stability under the NRM, led by Museveni.
Hamid said that during the conference, several Ugandan leaders are expected to share words of wisdom on how young people can transform their lifestyles and goals to become more productive, active, and self-reliant, while contributing positively to the national system and the unity of the country.
He disclosed that he owns several factories in Kampala, including those in manufacturing and value addition, transportation, and the oil sector. Hamid promised that after the elections, he would sit down with Kampala’s divisional mayors to devise ways of supporting the youth in various activities, including improving their incomes and securing jobs for some of them.