BIG INTERVIEW: NUP is a coalition of haters with little focus on people's needs - Todwong

NRM Secretary General says the opposition does not bring any policies that can show Ugandans direction in terms of putting food on the table
BIG INTERVIEW | In the 2021 general election, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) experienced a dismal performance in Buganda, with party bigwigs, including then Vice President Edward Ssekandi and many other Cabinet ministers being trounced.
The party received only 35 percent of the vote in the central region, while the National Unity Platform (NUP) led by Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine garnered 62.01 percent, sending a strong message to those in charge.
The NRM secured only 31 out of 105 parliamentary seats and nine district chairpersons in Buganda.
As the country heads toward the 2026 general election, amidst numerous corruption scandals associated with many NRM members, the opposition appears to be gaining ground.
However, NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong has openly criticised the opposition parties in Uganda, labeling them as a "coalition of haters" without a clear ideological foundation.
Todwong specifically targeted NUP accusing the party of promoting hate and focusing solely on the removal of President Museveni from power.
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Many Ugandans are asking if NRM can effectively combat corruption that has proliferated under its watch.
The NRM party was founded on the fight against injustices, with corruption being one of them. We are facing it head-on. For a long time, the people of Uganda have been complaining about corruption, but our president is a just and fair leader.
He is not a ruler who dictates and pounds on somebody because people have cried about him or her. He prefers to do things based on evidence. If you go to him without evidence, you might feel he is not responding to what you have taken to him. But when you go with evidence, he will act, and that is what he is doing now.
You have led the government for 38 years, during which corruption has grown. How do you convince people that your party genuinely has the political will to combat it?
You must have witnessed, over the past years we have been in power, quite a number of leaders were arrested in the past: permanent secretaries, ministers, and even the former vice president.
You remember the story of Mike Mukula and Jim Muhwezi, and the former vice president Gilbert Bukenya. Those are the stories we can speak about. Corruption intensified, and we all spoke against it. At the moment, we are very confident that the President is up to the task of working on the corrupt people, and he is doing it legally.
As Secretary General, you have spoken against corruption. Are you willing to go the full length in fighting it?
If you discuss corruption to mean corruption in NRM only, then you will miss the fight. Corruption is bigger. We share a governance structure with people who are not necessarily members of NRM. This we have repeatedly said. When public service is recruiting permanent secretaries or accounting officers like district administrative officers, they don’t look at political parties. Our constitution is very clear that civil servants are not supposed to belong to any political party.
It is wrong to say this is mainly about the NRM party, but yes, we are in charge of government where we govern those who don’t believe and belong to our party. That is why if you start running after somebody because a whistleblower has brought an accusation, you will miss the fight. You need tangible evidence.
How can you convince Ugandans suffering from collapsing public services due to corruption that your evidence-based approach isn't just tolerance of corruption?
This war is a very complex one that requires evidence-based action. You cannot just go and accuse or arrest somebody without evidence. That is why for all these complaints that people are making, even if a whistleblower brings a complaint to the IGG, CID, or State House Anti-Corruption Unit, that whistleblowing must have evidence.
What is the risk of that approach being interpreted as tolerance of corruption?
It is true that it looks like you are condoning corruption, it looks like you are forgiving those who are corrupt, it looks like you are prolonging the system. Yet the law says you are innocent until proven guilty. The process of proving you guilty is what takes time in the fight against corruption.
Corruption could damage your party's popularity and vote mobilisation, as seen in the last elections. How do you address this issue?
Even when we mobilise, our party stands on truth. We tell the people the process that is delaying us from implementing. The law is very clear: if a public servant is found to be corrupt, they are supposed to leave public office for a period of about 10 years. But for you to reach that ruling, you need to prove that indeed somebody is guilty, and that is how fair the law is.
Now, we can’t use a Machiavellian approach that says, "Yes, you have been accused, you are guilty." That is not leadership. Leadership doesn’t mean that you need to run on emotions and feelings; you need evidence-based action.
Your members have been incarcerated over corruption. We have not yet heard a statement from you as the secretariat.
When the chairman of the party has already spoken and the case is before the court of law, we don’t need to go into that. But for us, our speaking would be to warn those involved in corruption and those who are intending to become corrupt that actions have been taken on others and we are not going to spare anybody.
As Secretary General, how do you address corruption tied to vote buying in NRM primaries and general elections?
That is subject to discussion, but yes, it is true. We are not going to say that the whole system is okay. Human needs and behaviors will bring out all these things, and to govern is to manage the effects of some of those excesses. Within NRM, we have tried to improve our systems to avoid people over-compromising voters during internal elections of the party.
We have decided to make our internal elections very transparent, with voters lining up behind candidates, and that has been the case since we amended our constitution. We knew that vote-buying and bribery were very common, and we decided to promote openness and let people line up so we can count one by one.
How much does it cost to run in NRM primaries, say for a Member of Parliament?
The bare minimum, because you just need posters and fuel to move to the villages and campaign. That is all. The party does the elections and provides materials for the voting. You only need to mobilise the people to come and line up, and we count. To me, you cannot spend more than Shs20 million in the primary elections of the party. I am being honest.
But don’t you know that elections are very expensive in this country?
We hear that others spend more than that amount. Others are spending hundreds of millions, but there are constituencies where even if you spend Shs1 billion, you will not be voted for. If you overspend in an election, we should disqualify you.
Will you apply that?
We are still discussing our guidelines for the internal process. We are going to present some of these guidelines for discussion with the Central Executive Committee. I have gone to elections where someone took money from the bank and mortgaged his family house. Unfortunately, he lost the election. After a month, he passed away due to pressure and stress. It means I must win at all costs, and that is why violence, rigging, and all sorts of electoral malpractices come in.
We put too much emphasis on winning an election rather than participating. As political parties that sponsor these candidates, we need to clean our system before they even go to the national assembly. Parties should be stricter on candidates or individuals who offer themselves to contest because if your purpose to contest is to earn an income, then you are not a good leader. You cannot attend to people’s needs.
Are you not aware that campaigns are in full mode almost across the country?
We are aware. Yes, I have just returned from Karamoja. Parliament is in recess, and MPs are in the countryside campaigning. We see that, but we also know that when the parties regulate the entry point, then we shall get better legislators. It starts with the party.
Are you satisfied with the quality of legislators currently in Parliament, of which the majority are your members?
Even if the quality is not up to the mark, one should be able to improve themselves. This doesn’t only affect MPs; generally, Ugandans don’t read or seek to understand. We feel that the limited knowledge we have is enough. That is why technocrats abuse offices because political supervision is weak. Political leaders don’t read policy documents or ministerial statements presented in Parliament. How many MPs read them?
You have told your members that they can sleep in Parliament as long as they vote for the party position.
Politically, we can speak like that, but technically, they need to perform. We have the national development plan, Vision 2040, our party manifesto, and the district development plan. Can you, as a Member of Parliament, align them with the interests of your constituency? If they feel inadequate, they need to improve themselves.
Intense meetings have occurred at the highest party level about fighting corruption. What were the outcomes of these central executive meetings, and do you believe they provide the necessary solutions?
It is true that we have had quite a number of meetings, and during those meetings, people discuss freely and express their concerns about what corruption is doing to the party and the country. At the end, we all harmonize and agree that we must fight corruption without fear or favor, without being lenient to anybody. Anybody involved must be punished if there is evidence. That is what the party has decided, and it is what the president is now communicating to the rest of the country. This will not spare anybody, whether you are a member or not.
As the Secretary General of the party, what will define your legacy?
First of all, it is an honour for a revolutionary party like NRM to select someone from a village like me, called Todwong, as its Secretary General. I don’t take it for granted; it's something I didn’t expect. My legacy is to ensure I live up to the expectations of the party founders.
I need to leave behind something that the party will always remember. We have faced challenges with the party register; in the last election, it was a problem as we didn’t even have a register. I aim to establish a credible, clean register for the party. There must be order and discipline within the party. When we took office, the office was heavily indebted. I'm happy to say we have resolved most of these issues. The party is performing well, with structures nationwide. Members are even donating land for district offices.
You promised to build a 27-storey headquarters in Kampala, but it has not materialised
It will come. You see, we approach things differently in NRM. The party isn't just about structures or buildings; it's about the people. We need to strengthen the party's foundation among its members and supporters. Members in various districts are offering to contribute money to build our offices, but I've asked them to wait until the party decides. Nonetheless, members have already built offices in many districts.
Under your leadership, the party faced challenges from the National Unity Platform. As we near the next elections amidst corruption scandals, does it appear the opposition is gaining ground?
Opposition is not ideological in Uganda, the opposition is by association. That is what is very interesting. The opposition is not about discussing the factors of production. It is about how much I hate the coalition of haters that form a political party and that is what about the opposition in Uganda because if you ask NUP what they stand for they stand for hate and Museveni must leave power but doesn’t bring food on the people.
When you ask for Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), it remembers the legacy of Milton Obote and that is all, when you ask DP is now working with NRM. So it is about a coalition of haters but that does change the society. NRM is very systematic, it is very perfect and we don’t shy away from telling the truth whether that truth will make you to support us or not but you have to know it.
As a ruling party, you're expected to fulfill responsibilities in managing the budget and national resources.
Budget discussions occur annually, and we have just passed a new budget. The opposition-led accountability committee in Parliament ensures our actions align with the law. Every local government receives quarterly funding from the government. That's the extent of what the NRM government can do; other leaders elected at various levels must operate within these frameworks.