news 30 March 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Luuka Bush War Veteran Still Awaits Museveni's 1986 Promises After 40 Years
A 72-year-old veteran from Luuka District in eastern Uganda is pleading with President Museveni to honor pledges made at the end of the NRA liberation struggle, including a house, land, and income ventures. Despite years of follow-ups and official referrals, he remains in poverty, living in a cramped home while battling health issues. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/four-decades-later-luuka-veteran-still-waiting-for-museveni-s-1986-pledges-5398148
Jonathan Isanga Mugeere, a 72-year-old resident of Nakiswiga Village in Luuka District, fought alongside the National Resistance Army (NRA) against Alice Lakwena’s rebels in the Busoga region during the late 1980s.
After the NRA’s victory in 1986, President Museveni promised supporters like Mugeere a modern house, land, a vehicle, and income-generating projects. Four decades on, none of these commitments have materialized, leaving the veteran in dire straits.
Mugeere, now managing diabetes, shares a small wattle and daub house with his large family. He has an unfinished three-bedroom structure nearby but lacks funds to complete it. His efforts to secure aid have included appeals to Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and a referral to Lt. Gen. (rtd) Proscovia Nalweyiso, the Presidential Advisor on Veterans Affairs, yet no support has come.
Documents from 2010, including a letter from the Principal Private Secretary, confirm his claims were under review. Mugeere notes the pledges extended to 12 people in Busoga, some of whom, like his father, died without benefits.
His wife, Fidah Namunana, laments the community’s mockery over their plight despite his service. Their daughter Dezilanta Namukaya dropped out of school in Senior One due to fees, dimming her future prospects.
Luuka RDC Rogers Ntogona acknowledges Mugeere’s inclusion in the Lakwena victims’ program and urges patience as verification continues under presidential directive.
Source: Daily Monitor