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As Uganda heads to the polls this Thursday, prominent businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu has called on citizens to consider the long-term achievements of President Yoweri Museveni before casting their votes.
In remarks shared publicly, Kanyamunyu traced Museveni’s rise from leading a locally organized conflict to inheriting a nation on the brink of collapse.
“Before anything resembling justice, democracy or prosperity, total collapse needed to be averted,” he said, emphasizing that restoring order was a necessary foundation for progress.
Kanyamunyu highlighted four decades of economic growth under Museveni, noting an average annual growth rate of 6.1%, accompanied by improvements in nutrition, health, and education.
“In those 40 years, the average citizen lost only 14 years of their remaining life,” he remarked, framing this as a measure of the administration’s impact on human well-being.
Peace and economic stability, according to Kanyamunyu, have been defining achievements.
Hyperinflation was arrested, food prices kept manageable, and millions of Ugandans rose out of poverty.
Yet, he acknowledged areas of weakness, including institutional challenges, corruption, and infrastructural gaps.
Kanyamunyu argued that expectations had shifted over time, with ordinary progress increasingly viewed as inadequate.
He urged voters to weigh these realities against the broader record of sustained development.
“To vote for Gen. Museveni need not be devotion, but something rarer: gratitude without illusion. A final acknowledgement. A dignified send-off for the old man,” he said.
He concluded by framing the vote as a reflection of historical perspective rather than emotional reaction: “History asks this quietly and gingerly. And history, unlike crowds, counts carefully.”
Kanyamunyu’s remarks come as debates intensify over Uganda’s political future, with the electorate weighing the country’s record of stability and growth against calls for institutional reform and generational leadership change.