Entrepreneurs endorse Mukesh Shukla for NRM CEC position

16 August 2025, 6:08 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, the top decision-making organ of the ruling party, is set to be constituted during the forthcoming delegates conference scheduled for 26th August 2025 at Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala. According to the NRM Electoral Commission chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi and the party Secretary General Richard Twodong, over 20,000 delegates from across the country are expected to attend the event.

Ahead of the conference, a group of entrepreneurs led by Jackson Ahabwe in Kampala have rallied support for businessman Mukesh Shukla, popularly known as Shumuk, urging delegates to elect him to the party’s CEC. Ahabwe said Shukla has made a significant contribution to the business community and deserves a chance to represent entrepreneurs at the highest decision-making level of the party.

“We know there are other party members vying for this position, but we request that the delegates at Kololo give Mr. Mukesh Shukla an opportunity. We are optimistic that he will uplift the well-being of entrepreneurs because of his good manifesto,” Ahabwe stated. He emphasized that the position requires someone with vast business experience, adding that Shukla’s investments have created employment and helped reduce unemployment and crime in the country.

Entrepreneur Anita Najjemba, a fruit dealer, also backed Shukla, saying his decades of experience position him as the right candidate. “Mr. Mukesh has seen it all and deserves this opportunity to be in CEC in order to serve us better. I believe that once he is given that responsibility, he will be able to do so much in the business community,” she said.

Mukesh Shukla is a businessman, entrepreneur, and politician, widely regarded as one of Uganda’s wealthiest individuals. He is the chief executive officer of the Shumuk Group, a conglomerate established in 1984 with Shumuk Aluminum Industries, which manufactures aluminum utensils and related products, employing more than 1,500 people both directly and indirectly. Born in the 1950s to a former revenue officer at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Shukla ventured into politics in 2021 when he contested for the Nakawa West parliamentary seat but lost to the current Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi.

Over the years, Shumuk Group has diversified into multiple sectors, cementing Shukla’s place as one of the most prominent figures in Uganda’s business landscape.