By Jamillah Kemigisa
In a stunning political upset, Lt. Moses Mushabe, the Isingiro District NRM chairman and retired army officer, has floored Security Minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi to seize the coveted position of Chairperson of the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) Veterans League.
The hotly contested race, held at Kololo Independence Grounds during the NRM delegates’ conference, saw Mushabe secure a commanding 1,047 votes, eclipsing Gen. Muhwezi—one of President Yoweri Museveni’s longest-serving political allies—who trailed with 570 votes.
Official tallies released by the NRM Electoral Commission confirmed the shock result. Other aspirants performed dismally: Jackson Kalusimbi managed just 7 votes, while Titus Erisa Kiwanuka garnered 11, bringing the total valid votes cast to 1,635.
Mushabe’s emphatic victory is being described as a political earthquake within the ruling party. Gen. Muhwezi, a towering figure in Uganda’s political and security establishment since the 1980s, has been unseated by a relatively younger lieutenant—a moment many observers interpret as a decisive shift in the power dynamics of the party’s veterans’ bloc.
The development comes barely a month after Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde failed to dislodge Muhwezi in the Rujumbura County parliamentary primaries. Ironically, it has taken a lieutenant—not a general—to finally humble him.
Analysts argue that the result underscores simmering grassroots discontent within the NRM Veterans League, where many ex-servicemen feel abandoned by the party’s old guard. Mushabe, who campaigned on a platform of revitalizing veterans’ welfare, healthcare, and livelihoods, tapped into this frustration and galvanized overwhelming support.
“This is not just my victory,” Mushabe declared to jubilant supporters. “It is a victory for all veterans who have long yearned for genuine change.”
His election is being hailed as a generational handover, with veterans signaling renewed trust in younger leadership to advance their cause. Political observers contend that Muhwezi’s downfall raises profound questions about the survival of Uganda’s old-guard politicians, as a rising cadre of younger leaders asserts itself within the party.
The shockwaves from Mushabe’s triumph are expected to ripple through the broader CEC contests and could shape internal party debates ahead of the 2026 general elections.
For now, however, the lieutenant’s victory stands as a symbolic dethroning of entrenched power—an emphatic reminder that in politics, no one is invincible.
