PRESIDENT MUSEVENI PASSES OUT 106 SENIOR SECURITY OFFICERS, EMPHASISES IDEOLOGICAL CLARITY FOR UGANDA'S TRANSFORMATION

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is also the Commander-in-Chief
of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), on Friday, July 17,
2026, passed out 106 senior security officers who successfully
completed the Advanced Joint Senior Political Education and Leadership
Development Course at the National Leadership Institute (NALI),
Kyankwanzi.

The graduates comprised senior officers from the Uganda People's
Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force (UPF), Uganda Prisons
Service (UPS), Internal Security Organisation (ISO), External Security
Organisation (ESO), and Wazalendo SACCO.

The 59-day course, which commenced on May 26, 2026, was designed
to strengthen ideological grounding, leadership and strategic thinking
among senior security officers. Of the 106 participants, 52 were from the
UPDF, while the remainder came from the other security agencies. At
least 16 participants were female officers, most serving at battalion and
brigade command level.

The programme focused on the implementation of the National
Resistance Movement (NRM) Manifesto and covered revolutionary
philosophy, transformative theory, political economy, Uganda's political
history, geopolitics, leadership, skills at arms, and the role of ideology in
policy formulation and implementation.

During the pass-out ceremony at State House Entebbe, President
Museveni delivered what became a comprehensive

“Lecture of Opportunity” after responding to questions raised by
participants on Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, strategic
security and Vision 2040.

Responding to the officers, President Museveni said development is a
gradual process that resembles biological metamorphosis.
“Society transforms just like an insect changes from an egg to a
caterpillar, then a pupa and finally a butterfly. Societies also transform in
stages and must be guided correctly through those stages,” he said.

The President explained that Uganda’s transformation is anchored on
moving households from subsistence production into the money
economy through commercial agriculture, manufacturing, ICT and
services.

To illustrate his point, he showcased videos of communities he mobilised
in western Uganda during the 1960s to abandon nomadism and
embrace commercial production.

“Those people had land and cattle but they were outside the money
economy. We studied how Europe transformed itself and concluded that
prosperity comes from production and participating in the market
economy,” he said.

President Museveni noted that Uganda's development strategy
deliberately shifted from emphasising only traditional cash crops to
promoting all agricultural products as commercial enterprises.

“Long ago people only talked about cotton, coffee and tobacco. I
wondered why we should emphasise beverages and ignore food. That is
why when we came into government we said all food crops are cash

crops. Maize, bananas and many other crops can generate wealth if
produced commercially,” he said.

The President urged the officers to continue sensitising Ugandans on the
effective utilisation of small pieces of land through the Four-Acre Model.
He advised households to dedicate one acre to coffee, another to fruits,
one to pasture and the fourth to food crops, while using backyard space
for poultry or piggery.

Citing successful beneficiaries, President Museveni highlighted Richard
Nyakana of Fort Portal, who earns about Shs1 million daily from
integrated farming, and Joseph Ijala of Serere District, a former taxi
conductor who transformed one and a half acres into a thriving poultry
and dairy enterprise reportedly earning more than Shs1 billion annually.

“When our people wake up and properly utilise their land, they create
wealth not only for themselves but also jobs for others. Nyakana is
employing about 15 people because he used his land correctly,” he said.
He added that the government would continue combining education with
mass sensitisation to encourage more Ugandans to embrace wealth
creation.

President Museveni said Uganda’s liberation struggle was guided by a
clear ideological understanding of the source of prosperity.

“When we were fighting for the freedom of Africa, we asked ourselves
whether Africans deserve prosperity like other people. The answer was
yes. Then we asked where prosperity comes from. Does it come from
begging? The answer was no.”

He explained that prosperity comes from producing goods or services
that others are willing to buy.

“If I produce milk, beef or bananas, my prosperity does not come from
my tribe because they produce the same things. My prosperity comes
from other Ugandans who buy my products. That is why patriotism
became our first ideological principle.”

The President warned against sectarian politics based on tribe or
religion, saying such thinking undermines national prosperity.
“Anybody telling you to care more about your tribe than Uganda is an
enemy of your prosperity.”

He observed that Uganda's domestic market eventually becomes too
small as production expands, making regional integration essential.
“When our people started producing more sugar, textiles, milk and
maize, they discovered that Uganda alone was not enough. That is why
Pan-Africanism is essential. Ea

st Africa and Africa provide the market for
our surplus production.”

President Museveni reaffirmed that patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-
economic transformation and democracy remain the four ideological
principles guiding Uganda’s development.
On strategic security, he cautioned that prosperity cannot be sustained
without the capacity to defend it.

“You may become prosperous but still face aggression. Therefore,
strategic security is essential.”

He observed that modern warfare now extends beyond land, air and sea
to include space, arguing that no single African country has the capacity
to compete effectively in all four domains independently.

“Even developed countries such as France, Germany and Britain cannot
independently dominate all these areas. That is why political integration
in Africa is so important.”

The President also challenged Africans to overcome what he described
as an inferiority complex, saying the continent possesses abundant
resources capable of supporting industrialisation.

“One reason we have not been competitive in pharmaceuticals is
because we depended on imported starch. Now we have our own starch
from cassava and can compete globally. The inferiority complex is very
dangerous.”

Turning to education, President Museveni called for a balanced system
that combines academic learning with practical skills while allowing
learners to pursue their interests.

He also pledged that the government would continue addressing
challenges such as human-wildlife conflict while promoting commercial
agriculture across the country.

Speaking on behalf of the security agencies, the Director General of
ESO, Ambassador Joseph Ocwet, thanked President Museveni for what
he described as an invaluable lecture that transformed the officers'
understanding of ideology and leadership.

“Every time we meet you, Your Excellency, we learn something new.
Tonight, the 14 questions raised by the participants turned into a golden
Lecture of Opportunity from which all of us have learnt immensely,”
Ambassador Ocwet said.

He commended the National Leadership Institute for strengthening
ideological training within the security sector over the past three years.

Ambassador Ocwet also praised the Chief of Defence Forces and the
UPDF leadership for fostering joint training among the country's security agencies.

“Gone are the days when our institutions worked in isolation. Today the
UPDF, ISO, ESO, Uganda Police Force and Uganda Prisons Service
train and work together as one team.”

The Director of NALI, Col. Okei Rukogota, said the two-month
programme was aimed at deepening ideological understanding among
senior security officers to support Uganda's socio-economic
transformation.

He said the institute remains committed to advancing the four ideological
principles of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation
and democracy as the foundation for resisting foreign domination in
political, economic, social and cultural affairs.

“The participants have been vibrant, disciplined and eager to learn. They
demonstrated revolutionary commitment and patriotic morale throughout
the programme,” Col. Rukogota said before requesting the President to
officially pass out the officers.

Delivering the vote of thanks on behalf of the participants, the students'
representative, Ms. Grace Katushabe, said the course had equipped
them with practical ideological tools to become agents of national
transformation.

“Your Excellency, this has been more than a lecture. It has been a call to
responsibility and action. We have deepened our understanding of
patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, political
economy and the NRA's Ten-Point Programme,” she said.

She pledged that the graduates would champion patriotism, integrity and
productive citizenship while applying the lessons learnt to strengthen
Uganda's security and contribute to national development.
President Museveni later congratulated the participants upon
successfully completing the course and officially passed