A Thanksgiving ceremony hosted by Security Minister Jim Muhwezi in Rukungiri on Saturday became another platform for supporters of Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to publicly back his bid for Uganda’s presidency in 2031.
The ceremony was held in Nyakagyeme Sub-county, Rujumbura Constituency, where Muhwezi, who also represents Rujumbura in Parliament, gathered family members, government officials, National Resistance Movement (NRM) and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) supporters, colleagues and residents to give thanks for his political career and recent electoral victory.
The event had been announced earlier in the month as a Thanksgiving ceremony for Muhwezi and his family, with President Yoweri Museveni initially expected to attend as chief guest.
Among those attending was a group of government and PLU officials who joined Muhwezi and his wife, Susan Muhwezi, for the ceremony.
In a statement following the event, one of the attendees said the gathering also provided an opportunity to gauge local support for Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, who has declared his intention to seek the presidency in 2031.
“I thank the People of Rujumbura and the entire Rukungiri in general for enthusiastically endorsing and expressing confidence in Gen MK as our future President (2031 onwards),” the official said.
The statement added that the country’s future was “secure and predictable with Gen MK”, framing the Rukungiri gathering within the growing political mobilisation around Kainerugaba’s prospective 2031 presidential bid.
Rukungiri endorsement adds to nationwide mobilisation
The development comes amid an expanding endorsement campaign for Kainerugaba, led by the PLU, which has been mobilising political leaders and supporters to publicly back his 2031 ambitions.
Earlier this week, five MPs from the Ankole sub-region formally endorsed Kainerugaba, including Amos Kankunda, Amanya Cohen Kyampene, Mwine Mpaka Rwamirama, Boaz Atwijukire and Zadock Mutekanga. The PLU has also established a nationwide mechanism for collecting endorsements.
On Saturday, members of the NRM Buganda Parliamentary Caucus also endorsed Kainerugaba during a gathering at Serena Kigo, adding to endorsements already reported from other parts of the country.
The campaign follows an announcement earlier this month that Kainerugaba intends to run for president in 2031.
PLU officials have described the current activity as mobilisation and endorsement rather than a formal presidential campaign, noting that Kainerugaba remains a serving military officer.
Kainerugaba currently serves as Chief of Defence Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, while Muhwezi serves as Minister of Security. Muhwezi was among the ministers sworn into the new Cabinet in June 2026.
The Rukungiri event therefore adds a western Uganda dimension to an endorsement drive that has recently gathered activity across different regions.
For Muhwezi, the ceremony combined a personal expression of gratitude with political networking involving government and PLU figures. For the wider PLU movement, the public endorsement from Rujumbura and Rukungiri forms part of an emerging nationwide effort to build support around Kainerugaba ahead of the 2031 presidential contest.
The significance of the Rukungiri endorsement remains political rather than electoral at this stage: Uganda’s 2031 presidential election is still several years away, and the endorsements being collected by PLU are not themselves an electoral result or an official nomination by the Electoral Commission.
