National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has vowed to champion new labour laws aimed at ensuring fair pay for factory and plantation workers, saying many labourers in Buikwe District are enduring rampant exploitation.
Speaking during his rally at Butema Playground in Njeru Municipality on Wednesday, Bobi told supporters that a significant portion of Buikwe’s population works in factories and sugarcane plantations but continues to survive on meagre wages, with some labourers reportedly earning as little as Shs 3,000 per day.
He promised that a future NUP-led government would prioritise workers’ rights and dignity.
“In the new Uganda we are promising, exploitation of workers will not be tolerated. All workers at all levels will be earning salaries commensurate to their sweat,” Bobi said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
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He also criticised the government’s closure of 52 landing sites around Buikwe District on grounds of illegal fishing, arguing that entire communities had been unfairly stripped of their livelihoods.
Bobi claimed that security personnel deployed to curb illegal fishing were themselves accused by residents of engaging in the very practices they were sent to eliminate. He said that under a new government, traditional fishing communities would regain the responsibility of managing their lake resources.
During his campaign trail, Bobi accused the police of deliberate attempts to disrupt his movement. He said his convoy was repeatedly diverted through remote village routes, causing significant delays that resulted in him reaching venues past the officially allotted campaign time. Bobi entered Buikwe through Kayunga Road, but at the Nile Trading Centre junction his motorcade was steered toward the Mukono-Katosi Road by police.
“Today I am happy with the huge number of people who are here because no one was paid to come or promised a T-shirt. Your presence is testament that you know what you want,” he told supporters, emphasising what he described as organic public support for the NUP cause.
Kyagulanyi went on to address two additional rallies–one at Kasoga Primary School in Lugazi Municipality and another at Buwooya Grounds in Buikwe South Constituency. NUP’s Buikwe Woman MP flag bearer, Faridah Nabatanzi, expressed gratitude to residents for turning up in large numbers to welcome the party leadership.
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Scenes of confrontation echoed earlier incidents in neighbouring Mukono District, where police fired teargas and live bullets in several trading centres in an attempt to stop processions as Bobi’s motorcade passed through.
In the 2021 general elections, Buikwe District registered an overwhelming victory for Bobi Wine, who secured 81,852 votes, representing 65.08 percent of the total ballots cast.
President Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) followed with 40,900 votes, accounting for 32.52 percent.
Patrick Oboi Amuriat of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) received 1,039 votes (0.83 percent), while independent candidate Henry Tumukunde garnered 206 votes (0.16 percent).
Norbert Mao of the Democratic Party (DP) collected 388 votes (0.31 percent), and independent candidate Nancy Kalembe received 314 votes (0.25 percent). John Katumba accumulated 382 votes (0.30 percent), ANT’s Gregory Mugisha Muntu had 259 votes (0.21 percent), Joseph Kabuleta obtained 219 votes (0.17 percent), Fred Mwesigwa collected 152 votes (0.12 percent), and Willy Mayambala rounded off the list with 68 votes (0.05 percent).
