President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), on Friday, July 17, 2026, passed out 106 senior security officers who successfully completed the Advanced Joint Senior Political Education and Leadership Development Course at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi.
The graduates comprised senior officers from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force (UPF), Uganda Prisons Service (UPS), Internal Security Organisation (ISO), External Security Organisation (ESO), and Wazalendo SACCO.
The 59-day course, which commenced on May 26, 2026, was designed to strengthen ideological grounding, leadership and strategic thinking among senior security officers. Of the 106 participants, 52 were from the UPDF, while the remainder came from the other security agencies. At least 16 participants were female officers, most serving at battalion and brigade command level.
The programme focused on the implementation of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Manifesto and covered revolutionary philosophy, transformative theory, political economy, Uganda’s political history, geopolitics, leadership, skills at arms, and the role of ideology in policy formulation and implementation.
During the pass-out ceremony at State House Entebbe, President Museveni delivered what became a comprehensive
“Lecture of Opportunity” after responding to questions raised by participants on Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, strategic security and Vision 2040.
Responding to the officers, President Museveni said development is a gradual process that resembles biological metamorphosis.
“Society transforms just like an insect changes from an egg to a caterpillar, then a pupa and finally a butterfly. Societies also transform in stages and must be guided correctly through those stages,” he said.
The President explained that Uganda’s transformation is anchored on moving households from subsistence production into the money economy through commercial agriculture, manufacturing, ICT and services.
To illustrate his point, he showcased videos of communities he mobilised in western Uganda during the 1960s to abandon nomadism and embrace commercial production.
“Those people had land and cattle but they were outside the money economy. We studied how Europe transformed itself and concluded that prosperity comes from production and participating in the market economy,” he said.
President Museveni noted that Uganda’s development strategy deliberately shifted from emphasising only traditional cash crops to promoting all agricultural products as commercial enterprises.
“Long ago people only talked about cotton, coffee and tobacco. I wondered why we should emphasise beverages and ignore food. That is why when we came into government we said all food crops are cash crops. Maize, bananas and many other crops can generate wealth if produced commercially,” he said.
The President urged the officers to continue sensitising Ugandans on the effective utilisation of small pieces of land through the Four-Acre Model.
He advised households to dedicate one acre to coffee, another to fruits, one to pasture and the fourth to food crops, while using backyard space for poultry or piggery.
Citing successful beneficiaries, President Museveni highlighted Richard Nyakana of Fort Portal, who earns about Shs1 million daily from integrated farming, and Joseph Ijala of Serere District, a former taxi conductor who transformed one and a half acres into a thriving poultry and dairy enterprise reportedly earning more than Shs1 billion annually.
“When our people wake up and properly utilise their land, they create wealth not only for themselves but also jobs for others. Nyakana is employing about 15 people because he used his land correctly,” he said.
He added that the government would continue combining education with mass sensitisation to encourage more Ugandans to embrace wealth creation.
President Museveni said Uganda’s liberation struggle was guided by a clear ideological understanding of the source of prosperity.
“When we were fighting for the freedom of Africa, we asked ourselves whether Africans deserve prosperity like other people. The answer was yes. Then we asked where prosperity comes from. Does it come from begging? The answer was no.”
He explained that prosperity comes from producing goods or services that others are willing to buy.
“If I produce milk, beef or bananas, my prosperity does not come from my tribe because they produce the same things. My prosperity comes from other Ugandans who buy my products. That is why patriotism became our first ideological principle.”
The President warned against sectarian politics based on tribe or religion, saying such thinking undermines national prosperity.
“Anybody telling you to care more about your tribe than Uganda is an enemy of your prosperity.”
He observed that Uganda’s domestic market eventually becomes too small as production expands, making regional integration essential.
“When our people started producing more sugar, textiles, milk and maize, they discovered that Uganda alone was not enough. That is why Pan-Africanism is essential. East Africa and Africa provide the market for our surplus production.”
President Museveni reaffirmed that patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation and democracy remain the four ideological principles guiding Uganda’s development.
On strategic security, he cautioned that prosperity cannot be sustained without the capacity to defend it.
“You may become prosperous but still face aggression. Therefore, strategic security is essential.”
He observed that modern warfare now extends beyond land, air and sea to include space, arguing that no single African country has the capacity to compete effectively in all four domains independently.
“Even developed countries such as France, Germany and Britain cannot independently dominate all these areas. That is why political integration in Africa is so important.”
The President also challenged Africans to overcome what he described as an inferiority complex, saying the continent possesses abundant resources capable of supporting industrialisation.
“One reason we have not been competitive in pharmaceuticals is because we depended on imported starch. Now we have our own starch from cassava and can compete globally. The inferiority complex is very dangerous.”
Turning to education, President Museveni called for a balanced system that combines academic learning with practical skills while allowing learners to pursue their interests.
He also pledged that the government would continue addressing challenges such as human-wildlife conflict while promoting commercial agriculture across the country.
Speaking on behalf of the security agencies, the Director General of ESO, Ambassador Joseph Ocwet, thanked President Museveni for what he described as an invaluable lecture that transformed the officers’ understanding of ideology and leadership.
“Every time we meet you, Your Excellency, we learn something new. Tonight, the 14 questions raised by the participants turned into a golden Lecture of Opportunity from which all of us have learnt immensely,” Ambassador Ocwet said.
He commended the National Leadership Institute for strengthening ideological training within the security sector over the past three years.
Ambassador Ocwet also praised the Chief of Defence Forces and the UPDF leadership for fostering joint training among the country’s security agencies.
“Gone are the days when our institutions worked in isolation. Today the UPDF, ISO, ESO, Uganda Police Force and Uganda Prisons Service train and work together as one team.”
The Director of NALI, Col. Okei Rukogota, said the two-month programme was aimed at deepening ideological understanding among senior security officers to support Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
He said the institute remains committed to advancing the four ideological principles of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation and democracy as the foundation for resisting foreign domination in political, economic, social and cultural affairs.
“The participants have been vibrant, disciplined and eager to learn. They demonstrated revolutionary commitment and patriotic morale throughout the programme,” Col. Rukogota said before requesting the President to officially pass out the officers.
Delivering the vote of thanks on behalf of the participants, the students’ representative, Ms. Grace Katushabe, said the course had equipped them with practical ideological tools to become agents of national transformation.
“Your Excellency, this has been more than a lecture. It has been a call to responsibility and action. We have deepened our understanding of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, political economy and the NRA’s Ten-Point Programme,” she said.
She pledged that the graduates would champion patriotism, integrity and productive citizenship while applying the lessons learnt to strengthen Uganda’s security and contribute to national development.
President Museveni later congratulated the participants upon successfully completing the course and officially passed them out.
