Kyankwanzi Retreats: Museveni's Tool for NRM Unity and Major Decisions Over Decades

Newly elected Members of Parliament, mostly from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), started a week-long induction at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi on April 7, 2026. The session, ending next Wednesday, covers topics like the economy, party matters, defense, and global relations to shape President Museveni’s upcoming five-year term.

President Museveni, in power since 1986 following a guerrilla war, will deliver the keynote address today under the theme ‘aligning NRM leaders on protecting gains and leaping to higher middle-income status.’ NALI, often called Kyankwanzi Leadership Centre, trains public officials in ideology, patriotism, and leadership.

These retreats have historically unified the NRM, which dominates Parliament, on tough issues needing legislative backing. In 2011, amid teacher strikes, inflation, Walk-to-Work protests, oil bribery claims, and the Public Order Management Bill, Museveni gathered ministers and MPs to tackle the crises.

In 2012, a retreat addressed scandals involving ministers Syda Bbumba and Prof. Khiddu Makubuya over inflated compensation payments, though some MPs pushed for their censure despite calls to await reports.

February 2013 saw a meeting to ease tensions between Museveni and PM Amama Mbabazi, with rebel MPs like Theodore Ssekikubo and Barnabas Tinkasiimire criticizing leadership. This led to party expulsions and, by 2014, Museveni’s sole candidacy endorsement, prompting Mbabazi’s defection.

In March 2017, NRM MPs backed lifting the presidential age limit via constitutional amendment, enabling Museveni’s continued runs, including victories in 2021 and January 2026. A 2019 retreat strategized for 2021 elections, reaffirming his candidacy, while a post-2021 session focused on new members’ ideology.

This latest gathering precedes Museveni’s May 12 swearing-in for his seventh term.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)