ADJUMANI — Adjumani West is preparing to host President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Tuesday as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) winds up its campaign for flag bearer Leku James Pilli ahead of the September 17 by-election.
Museveni, who is also the NRM National Chairman, is expected to campaign for Pilli during a rally on September 15, marking the final major mobilisation event for the ruling party before polling day.
The President’s visit comes as NRM leaders enter the fourth day of an intensive village-to-village mobilisation campaign aimed at consolidating support for Pilli across the constituency.
The mobilisation is being led by NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda Hamson Obua and Director of Mobilisation and Cadre Development Dr Rosemary Sseninde.
Obua said preparations for Museveni’s rally were in high gear, with party leaders holding meetings and using radio engagements to mobilise residents.
“We have held a number of preparatory meetings, and we are yet to hold more. We have had radio talk shows mobilising members of the community to turn up in big numbers on Tuesday,” Obua said.
He said the rally would give residents an opportunity to hear directly from Museveni as he campaigns for Pilli.
Obua said infrastructure and connectivity had emerged among the key concerns raised during the grassroots mobilisation, with residents particularly highlighting the need for a bridge linking Adjumani to other parts of West Nile.
“The most key and pressing matter is the issue of the bridge,” he said, adding that the proposed project is still at the preliminary stages under the Ministry of Works and Transport.
He also urged NRM leaders and supporters to remain united, warning that internal divisions could undermine development and service delivery.
“Leaders must take the lead, leaders must walk the talk, and leaders must practise what they preach in terms of unity,” Obua said.
Sseninde said the village-based campaign had allowed party leaders to engage voters directly and build confidence in Pilli’s candidature.
“We have moved village by village. We have been able to reach down to the people,” she said.
She urged residents to maintain unity, arguing that divisions would not deliver development.
Pilli thanked voters for their support and said the grassroots campaign had given him an opportunity to interact directly with communities across Adjumani West.
He pledged to serve the constituency if elected and build on the legacy and plans of former MP Gen. Moses Ali, who represented the area for many years.
“I know most of his plans, and I hope to use the plans that he has left behind to enforce some of the things that I’m going to do in Adjumani,” Pilli said.
