Presidential Special Envoy on Political Affairs joins senior political figures backing Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba
By Brian Mugenyi
mugenyijj@gmail.com
Kampala: Former Vice President and Presidential Special Envoy on Political Affairs Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi has endorsed Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s bid for Uganda’s presidency in 2031, according to Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) officials.
Ssekandi made the declaration on Monday after visiting the PLU offices in Kampala, where he signed an endorsement book associated with Gen. Muhoozi’s presidential mobilisation campaign.
The development places one of Uganda’s long-serving political figures publicly alongside supporters campaigning for Gen. Muhoozi, who is the Chief of Defence Forces and founder of the Patriotic League of Uganda.
Ssekandi, who served as Uganda’s Vice President and later Speaker of Parliament, has also served as Presidential Special Envoy on Political Affairs. His current government role is independently reflected in recent public records and reporting.
PLU Secretary General Fadhil Twalla said Ssekandi’s visit and endorsement represented an important moment for the organisation.
“Earlier today, the Elder Mr Edward Ssekandi committed to endorse General Muhoozi as the next President of Uganda,” Twalla said.
In another statement, Twalla described Ssekandi as an elder and former Vice President who had visited the PLU secretariat and endorsed Gen. Muhoozi for 2031 and beyond.
“It’s humbling to see senior political elders joining this important cause,” Twalla said.
Ssekandi was accompanied by his private secretary Oscar Mutebi and members of his security team during the visit.
Mutebi has previously worked alongside Ssekandi in political mobilisation activities supporting Gen. Muhoozi, including the 2026 birthday run. Recent reporting also documented Ssekandi’s participation in mobilisation activities connected to Gen. Muhoozi.
The latest endorsement adds to Ssekandi’s publicly documented involvement in activities associated with Gen. Muhoozi.
Earlier this year, Ssekandi mobilised residents in Greater Masaka to participate in Gen. Muhoozi’s birthday run, while also supporting the distribution of sports jerseys to residents.
The former Vice President also attended the birthday-run climax at Kololo Independence Grounds in April, alongside political, business and cultural figures.
A senior political elder
Ssekandi has been a prominent figure in Uganda’s political establishment for decades, having served as Vice President and Speaker of Parliament.
His public association with Gen. Muhoozi’s political activities therefore places the latest endorsement within a broader pattern of engagement rather than as an isolated appearance.
For PLU leaders, the endorsement represents support from an elder with extensive experience in Uganda’s political affairs.
Mutebi said Ssekandi’s decision came at an important moment for the country’s political conversation.
The endorsement, however, remains a political statement by Ssekandi and PLU supporters; it does not itself determine Uganda’s 2031 presidential outcome.
Gen. Muhoozi’s supporters have increasingly organised political activities around his future leadership, while the formal electoral process and eventual presidential contest will determine who appears on the ballot and who wins the election.
Ssekandi’s latest move nevertheless adds another senior political voice to the public discussion surrounding Gen. Muhoozi’s political future.
For the PLU leadership, the message from the former Vice President is being presented as a sign that senior political elders are increasingly engaging with the question of Uganda’s future leadership.
The endorsement now becomes another chapter in the growing political conversation around the transition from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s long presidency to Uganda’s next generation of leadership.