FUTA, traders congratulate president-elect Museveni ahead of swearing-in ceremony

12 May 2026, 9:43 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

In fulfilment of Article 98 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which provides that there shall be a President of Uganda, various people yesterday in Kampala congratulated President-elect Yoweri Museveni ahead of his swearing-in ceremony scheduled for today at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.

During a press conference held at their offices in Kampala, the president of the Federation of Uganda Traders Association (FUTA) outlined reasons why traders under the association support President Museveni and why they intend to participate in the swearing-in ceremony.

“As FUTA, we want to stand by our word that we support President Museveni because he has been there for us as traders. I use this opportunity to call upon all traders to join the celebrations at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds. The President gave us UGX 20 billion to cater for traders whose properties were destroyed by floods some time back. However, there are people who want to steal our money. It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, is conniving with others to generate fake lists of people they claim were affected by the floods,” he said.

He further explained that FUTA had compiled what they described as the genuine list of affected traders.

“Our list has a total of 2,005 affected traders. URA has 360, KCCA has 480, KACITA has 420, and there is also another list for landlords. We want to confirm as the vetting committee that all the other lists belong to the Prime Minister. The genuine list is ours. ISO should advise us, not dismiss our list. The affected traders operate from buildings such as Nabukeera, Nana, Totala, Jesco, Sekaziga, and Ham, among others. We urge the Premier to calm down. Let the UGX 20 billion be taken to her office and she calls the people on our list one by one to confirm whether they are genuine traders or not. Our efforts are to ensure that traders benefit from what the President promised. The money is available,” Kabanda added.

In the same spirit, the chairman of Nsooba Slaughter House in Kampala, Sekanyo Suleiman, also congratulated President-elect Museveni and acknowledged benefiting from government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM). However, he appealed for increased funding towards the program in the new term beginning today so that more citizens can benefit from it effectively.

Meanwhile, the vice chairman of New Taxi Park, Sekitoleko Robert, also congratulated the President-elect and used the opportunity to advise parents to properly label their children’s belongings, such as mattresses, so that they can easily be traced and returned in case they are forgotten in taxis.

Regarding transport fares, Sekitoleko confirmed that taxi operators had not yet increased passenger fees, although he noted that an increment could happen later due to rising fuel prices.