“President Museveni to Stand in 2031,” Says Minister Babalanda

What the report says

At a retreat in Kyankwanzi on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Uganda’s Minister for the Presidency, Babirye Milly Babalanda, said President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni intends to remain in office beyond 2031. According to Watchdog Uganda, she made the remarks at the National Leadership Institute while speaking to district political and technical leaders from the Ankole, Kasese, Bunyoro, Tooro and Kigezi sub-regions.

Babalanda framed the message around the start of work on the 2026-2031 Manifesto and the National Development Plan IV, saying the priority should be completing socio-economic transformation and fighting corruption. She said district leaders should align their plans, budgets and work programs with national priorities and focus on practical results in households and local communities rather than on activity reports alone.

The minister also pointed to government programs meant to move more Ugandans into the money economy, including wealth-creation initiatives such as the Parish Development Model and Emyooga. She said the government should emphasize better roads, schools, health services, agriculture, jobs for youth and women, and stronger public financial management. Her message, as reported by Watchdog Uganda, was that public office should be judged by measurable improvements in people’s lives.

The broader political context is that Museveni, who has led Uganda for decades, remains central to the ruling NRM’s planning and messaging. The report presents Babalanda’s remarks as a signal that the party’s long-term agenda continues to be built around his leadership, though the article does not provide any formal announcement from Museveni himself.