Otema: PLU Is Not NRM Rival, It Is a Tributary That Feeds the Mother Party

What the report says

Retired Lt Gen Charles Otema Awany has urged closer cooperation between the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) in Acholi, rejecting the idea that the two are political rivals. Speaking in Gulu City at the launch of PLU endorsement books for the sub-region, he said PLU should be seen as a tributary that supports the ruling party rather than a separate competitor.

Otema said both groups share values such as patriotism, anti-corruption messaging and accountable leadership. The remarks came as PLU began a grassroots endorsement drive across the eight districts of Acholi, according to Nile Post. Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, who is identified as the PLU coordinator for Acholi, said endorsement books had been distributed down to lower local-government levels and that district organizers were given two weeks to mobilize residents for both in-person endorsement and online registration.

Mapenduzi also called on local leaders in the NRM and PLU to reconcile and cooperate, comparing their relationship to a relay race. The article notes that PLU was launched in Kampala in February 2024 after emerging from the MK Movement and is chaired by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. It describes the movement as a civic organization focused on patriotism, civic education, community service, youth empowerment and accountability, and says it has continued building grassroots structures alongside NRM networks.