The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Party President Patrick Oboi Amuriat has called on President Yoweri Museveni to ensure tolerance of divergent political views in the coming 2026 General election.
Amuriat says the 2021 general elections were marred with military operations against the opposition politicians across the country and notes that it shouldn’t be the same situation in 2026.
According to Amuriat, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party led by President Museveni has already been in power for more than 30 years and should do better in respecting the civil rights of people who share different views.
Sharing his experience of the campaigns leading to the 2021 General election, Amuriat said he faced numerous threats from security personnel despite being a presidential candidate and urged for a peaceful election exercise come 2026. Amuriat garnered 337,589 votes (3.26 percent) while President Museveni was declared overall winner with 6,042,898 votes (58.38 percent).
Amuriat made the statement Friday while addressing locals at Abongo dyang cell in Otwee Town Council, in Amuru District where a total of 129 village saving groups were passed out after completing training in financial literacy.
The training initiatives were facilitated by Amuru Woman Member of Parliament Lucy Akello. The saving groups comprised men, women, and reformed former community outlaws received 100,000 shillings each as start-up capital.
Amuriat handed a cash contribution of two million shillings on behalf of FDC towards the initiative while the FDC party Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi gave out 5 million shillings.
Akello told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that the initiative seeks to empower households in Amuru district with saving skills for household poverty eradication. She says components of the training also helped the beneficiaries in addressing domestic violence in families and mindset change to tackle poverty.
In May this year, more than 100 village saving groups were unveiled in Olwal Sub-county after undergoing the same financial literacy training. A total of 70 million shillings were raised at the time to support the women groups.
Justine Kasule Lumumba, Minister of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) who was chief guest at the event lauded Akello for mobilizing the local community to fight poverty.
She says her initiative simplifies the government’s role in poverty eradication and compliments the Parish Development Model (PDM) that was rolled out to address the poverty challenges in households at the Parish level.
Lumumba also lauded the legislator for the transformation of youth from being outlaws into productive citizens and pledged to support the youth group with 1 million shillings for their Saving group.
A total of 17 million shillings was realized from the fundraising drive during the passout of the village saving groups.
Since the launch of the initiative five years ago according to Ambrose Opwonya, the lead trainer of the beneficiaries, more than 190 million shillings have been disbursed to groups comprising more than 18,000 individuals in Amuru district.
The groups that have so far benefitted are in Amuru, Pabbo, and Atiak Town Councils, and the sub-counties of Atiak, Opara, Pabbo, Lamogi, and Guru guru.
*****
URN
