His NRM mobilisation, PLU participation and community support are shaping a growing political profile
By Brian Mugenyi
mugenyijj@gmail.com
Kampala: At his office in Nakasero, Hajji Mohammed Ssebuufu (white shirt) is increasingly presenting himself not simply as a businessman, but as a political mobiliser whose activities have placed him within the expanding networks around the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
On Wednesday, Ssebuufu reaffirmed his support for the National Resistance Movement (NRM), PLU and Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s political project, saying his position was informed by what he described as efforts to fight corruption and promote national development.
His latest declaration comes at a time when PLU is expanding its mobilisation structures around Gen. Muhoozi’s stated intention to contest the 2031 presidential election.
PLU launched its national endorsement campaign earlier this month and has since been distributing endorsement books through its structures across the country. The organisation has described the exercise as a grassroots mobilisation campaign.
Against that backdrop, Ssebuufu’s supporters are increasingly pointing to his experience in business, community engagement, NRM mobilisation and PLU activities as the basis of his emerging political profile.
FROM BUSINESS TO GRASSROOTS MOBILISATION
Ssebuufu’s political involvement has developed alongside his business and community networks.
His supporters describe him as a businessman who has invested time and personal resources in political and community activities.
They point to his participation in PLU programmes and NRM mobilisation as evidence that his engagement goes beyond attending political gatherings.
They also cite instances in which he has reportedly provided financial or material assistance to disadvantaged NRM supporters facing hardship.
Such assistance, according to his associates, has involved responding to individual needs among people within the party’s grassroots support base.
Those accounts largely come from supporters and associates rather than an independently audited record of charitable contributions. They nevertheless form part of the profile being advanced by people who work with him.
THE GRASSROOTS FACTOR
For Ssebuufu’s supporters, his political value lies partly in his direct contact with ordinary people.
Political mobilisation is not confined to national headquarters or public rallies. It also takes place through community meetings, personal networks, social interactions and continued contact with supporters.
They say Ssebuufu has participated in that work.
His business networks have also brought him into contact with people outside formal political structures, while his involvement in NRM and PLU activities has connected him with political organisers.
That intersection between business, community networks and political mobilisation is central to the argument his supporters make about his role.
THE PLU MOMENT
The timing of Ssebuufu’s political activities is significant.
On September 1, PLU announced Gen. Muhoozi’s intention to seek the presidency in 2031. Since then, the organisation has stepped up a nationwide endorsement and mobilisation campaign.
The campaign has attracted endorsements from politicians, business people and other public figures.
On September 14, for example, five MPs from the Ankole sub-region visited the PLU national secretariat and publicly endorsed Gen. Muhoozi’s 2031 presidential bid, according to PLU and Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.
PLU has also been strengthening its regional and sub-regional coordination structures as it seeks to mobilise supporters nationally.
It is within this expanding political environment that Ssebuufu’s grassroots activities are being discussed.
WHAT HIS SUPPORTERS POINT TO
Those advocating for greater recognition of Ssebuufu’s political contribution identify several areas.
First, mobilisation.
He has participated in activities associated with PLU and supported NRM mobilisation initiatives.
Second, grassroots engagement.
His supporters say he has maintained direct relationships with ordinary members of the political networks with which he works.
Third, community support.
Associates say he has assisted some disadvantaged NRM supporters through financial and material support.
Fourth, networking.
His business and community relationships have brought him into contact with political, business and social actors.
Fifth, continued participation.
His latest declaration at Nakasero has reinforced his public association with the NRM, PLU and Gen. Muhoozi’s political project.
These are the factors his supporters cite when discussing his potential contribution to the organisation’s grassroots work.
KIRABIRA AND THE NEW POLITICAL NETWORKS
Another figure associated with the broader mobilisation conversation is Edson Kirabira, President of the Federation of Uganda Social Media Influencers (FUSMI), an elections observer and Civil Coordinator for Operation Wealth Creation in Nakasero 11.
Kirabira has previously appeared alongside Ssebuufu and other mobilisers in community-engagement activities.
A June 2026 report on a community-engagement initiative involving PLU mobiliser Sophia Kenyanji, Ssebuufu, Fadil Twalla and Kirabira highlighted the growing intersection between political mobilisation, community networks and digital platforms.
That intersection is becoming increasingly important in modern political organisation.
The political organiser of today may operate through community meetings and personal networks while simultaneously using social-media platforms to communicate with wider audiences.
SSEBUUFU ON CORRUPTION
At his Nakasero office, Ssebuufu also linked his political support to what he described as the fight against corruption.
He cited Gen. Muhoozi, Gen. Salim Saleh and members of the First Family, saying their contribution to confronting corruption was among the reasons for his continued support.
Those are Ssebuufu’s political assessments and should be understood as his stated reasons for supporting the political project.
PLU itself has made integrity and accountability part of its stated organisational values and has launched a digital platform that includes a corruption-reporting feature.
The organisation has also incorporated anti-corruption messaging into some of its grassroots activities.
THE BUSINESSMAN AS MOBILISER
Ssebuufu’s story reflects a broader feature of Uganda’s political mobilisation landscape: the growing involvement of business people and community actors in political organisation.
Unlike elected politicians, such individuals may have no formal constituency defined by electoral boundaries.
Their influence can instead come from relationships developed through business, community activities, social networks and personal assistance.
For Ssebuufu’s supporters, this is where his contribution lies.
They argue that his ability to move between business circles and grassroots communities gives him access to different sections of society.
Whether that translates into sustained political organisational influence, however, depends on the responsibilities assigned to him and his continued participation in the structures with which he is associated.
FROM NAKASERO TO THE GRASSROOTS
The current PLU mobilisation drive is giving renewed importance to people operating below the national leadership level.
PLU says it is building structures involving regional and sub-regional coordinators as part of its nationwide mobilisation.
The organisation’s official platform also presents itself around themes including patriotism, national unity, community service, responsible citizenship and national development.
For people such as Ssebuufu, the challenge is therefore moving from individual political support to organised and sustained grassroots engagement.
That requires communication with communities, mobilisation of supporters, participation in organisational activities and adherence to whatever structures and responsibilities the movement establishes.
THE SSEBUUFU QUESTION
Ssebuufu’s emerging political profile is therefore built around several strands — business, community engagement, NRM mobilisation and participation in PLU activities.
His supporters say his contribution should be viewed through the people he has engaged, the mobilisation activities in which he has participated and the assistance he has reportedly provided to disadvantaged supporters.
His latest declaration in Nakasero has placed those activities against the backdrop of PLU’s expanding national mobilisation for Gen. Muhoozi’s 2031 political project.
The broader question is how political movements translate individual commitment into organised grassroots structures.
For Ssebuufu, that process is still unfolding.
What is clear is that the businessman is increasingly participating in a political environment where mobilisation, community networks and personal relationships are becoming important parts of the organisation’s expanding grassroots activity.
The Ssebuufu factor, therefore, is less about a single political declaration and more about the gradual emergence of a businessman into Uganda’s increasingly networked world of grassroots political mobilisation.
