Museveni’s legacy will be written in the 2026 election
Uganda’s President and the leader of ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, Yoweri Museveni, accompanied by first lady Janet Museveni, arrives for a campaign rally at the Kitebi Primary school, Rubaga division of Kampala in Uganda on January 5, 2026.
On January 15, Ugandans go to the polls to elect the leaders who are expected to take it through its next phase of growth. But the country’s political history is riddled with accusations of vote manipulation, and the opposition has long complained of biased refereeing, state intimidation, and security agencies that are impartial and often used to spook opposition supporters.
This perception has had the unfortunate consequence of eroding public trust in the electoral process and casts a long shadow over elections. Once again, in this election, the litmus test is not just whether President Yoweri Museveni wins re-election, but how he wins it.
