Museveni Orders Ministries to Accelerate Kiira Motors Expansion

KAMPALA — President Yoweri Museveni has directed relevant government ministries to urgently secure financing, guarantee a market for locally manufactured buses and support the development of battery-production capacity as Uganda moves to accelerate its industrial transformation.

Museveni issued the directives on Wednesday while hosting the Presidential Pearl to Cape Expedition 2025 Homecoming Luncheon, organised to celebrate the successful journey of Kiira Motors Corporation’s Kayoola E-Coach from Uganda to South Africa and back.

The President congratulated the Kiira Motors team upon completing the expedition, describing it as a historic achievement and evidence that African countries are capable of designing, manufacturing and exporting their own technology.

“This achievement demonstrates that Africa can design, manufacture and export its own technology,” Museveni said.

He instructed the responsible ministries and government agencies to move quickly in mobilising affordable financing for the production of locally manufactured buses.

Museveni also directed the government to guarantee off-take for the buses, a measure intended to provide Kiira Motors and other local manufacturers with a predictable market for their products.

Under an off-take arrangement, government institutions and other approved entities could commit to purchasing locally produced vehicles, giving manufacturers confidence to increase production and attract investment.

The President further called for government support towards local battery production, which he said would strengthen Uganda’s electric-mobility industry and reduce dependence on imported vehicle components.

Kiira Motors Corporation Produces Premium buses, available for purchase

“We must stop working slowly. Uganda’s industrial transformation cannot wait,” Museveni said.

He argued that Uganda’s industrialisation agenda should build on the productive systems that existed before colonialism, when African communities relied on artisans, indigenous knowledge and interconnected economic activities.

According to Museveni, the country’s task is to restore that productive foundation through modern science, technology and industrial manufacturing.

“Before colonialism, our people had an integrated economy built on artisans and indigenous knowledge. Our task now is to restore that foundation through modern industrialisation,” he said.

The Kayoola E-Coach expedition was intended to demonstrate the capability, reliability and commercial potential of Uganda’s locally developed electric vehicle technology.

Its successful journey to South Africa and back was celebrated as a milestone for Kiira Motors and Uganda’s broader ambition to become a regional centre for electric mobility and automotive manufacturing.

Museveni’s directives are expected to place pressure on the concerned ministries to resolve financing, procurement and production challenges that have slowed the rollout of locally manufactured buses.

The President has repeatedly argued that government procurement should be used strategically to support domestic industries, create jobs, retain capital within the economy and reduce Uganda’s import bill.

The latest directive signals renewed government commitment to expanding the production and adoption of Kiira Motors vehicles while developing a wider local supply chain for batteries, vehicle components and related technology.