BRAVO! Museveni Commends Parliament for Passing UPDF Amendment Bill, Emphasizes Clean Politics

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has hailed the Parliament of Uganda for passing the UPDF Amendment Bill, 2025, which expands the jurisdiction of military courts to try civilians under certain circumstances, including cases involving military equipment or collaboration in serious crimes.

Speaking in Mabaale Village, Luwero District during his performance assessment tour of the Parish Development Model (PDM) and other wealth creation programs, the President warned that failure to pass the bill would have created tensions between the military, Parliament, and civilian courts. He criticized those who had opposed the bill, stating they must repent.

“When we came from the bush, we decided that even a civilian who uses a gun to commit a crime should be charged in military courts,” he emphasized, highlighting the importance of discipline and order in securing Uganda’s peace.

President Museveni attributed Uganda’s sustained peace since 1986 to clean politics under the NRM and emphasized the party’s four core principles: Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Social-Economic Transformation, and Democracy. He cautioned against land fragmentation, advocating instead for collective land use and investment, citing successful examples like Hajjat Mariam Baiga’s family in Bamunanika.

He reiterated his 1996 proposal of using small landholdings efficiently through a seven-activity model of intensive agriculture, and emphasized the importance of prioritizing wealth creation over development infrastructure in the short term.

On the Parish Development Model, Museveni warned against mismanagement and favoritism, stressing that if well-implemented, each parish could build a Parish Bank worth Shs 1.8 billion in a decade.

NRM Vice National Chairman for Central Region, Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi, praised the President’s wealth creation agenda, especially in the coffee sector. NRM Secretary General Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, while presenting a scorecard, noted a decline in party support in Greater Luwero from 2016 to 2021 and challenged local leaders to bridge the gap between the President and the electorate.

Todwong also announced that President Museveni had donated Shs 300 million—received from a court settlement with Monitor newspaper—to construct a party office in Luwero, with works already underway.