In the rolling foothills of Mt. Elgon where the air is crisp but danger lurks beneath the soil, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni stood before a hopeful crowd at Nabbongo Secondary School playground in Bulambuli district. His voice carried both warning and assurance.
“The plan is clear, to get out of danger before time,” he said, reminding residents that resettlement is not just a policy but a matter of life and death.
The President’s message resonated deeply with locals who have long lived under the shadow of recurring landslides, disasters that have swallowed homes, displaced families, and scarred memories across the Mt. Elgon sub-region.
A Promise of Safety and Dignity
Museveni reaffirmed government’s commitment to provide dignified and permanent resettlement for victims of landslides, saying that each affected family would receive two acres of land and Shs 10 million to start anew.
“We bought 2,000 acres for resettlement and have another Shs 50 billion to buy more land,” he said. “Every family will get two acres and ten million shillings. That is the current arrangement.”
The resettlement is part of a long-term plan to relocate communities from fragile mountainous zones to safer lowlands, a strategy born out of the devastating 2010 Nametsi tragedy in Bududa District, where more than 365 people perished when an entire village was buried alive.
Museveni, who personally visited the scene that year, recalled the horror.
“It was terrible as if the country had no people of knowledge,” he said. “Now that people know the danger, we must work full steam to get them out.”
Healing the Land, Saving Lives
The President compared unplanned settlement and deforestation on steep slopes to “undressing Mother Nature.”
“When you see your mother naked, you’re already in danger,” he said, warning against cutting trees that hold the soil together. “Once you destroy the forest cover, the soil is washed away.”
He emphasized that the government’s environmental protection efforts including reforestation and controlled settlement, were designed to restore nature’s balance while safeguarding communities.
Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hon. Hilary Onek, confirmed that progress had already been made.
“We have secured 2,661 acres here in Bulambuli and started resettling families in the Bunambutye Resettlement Camp,” he said, adding that Shs 50 billion was available to purchase more land.
From Conflict to Calm
Turning to the region’s past, Museveni praised Bulambuli as “a witness of peace,” recalling the days when cattle rustlers terrorized Bugisu, Teso, and Karamoja.
“Those who lived here before can testify, cattle rustling is now history,” he said. “Because of peace, we can now focus on protecting lives and developing our country.”
He highlighted major infrastructure developments including the tarmacked Mbale–Karamoja road and improved access routes from Kapchorwa, though he noted that Bulambuli’s volcanic soils make road construction challenging.
“I advised that we bring stones from Karuma power station to make your roads better,” he said.
Education and Health for All
Museveni also outlined plans to close education gaps in Bulambuli. The district’s 123 parishes have only 54 government primary schools, leaving 69 without one.
“The policy is clear, one government primary school per parish and one secondary school per sub-county,” he said, adding that three new secondary schools are already under construction to reduce underserved areas.
Health services, he admitted, remain a challenge. With only one Health Centre IV and 17 Health Centre IIIs, eight sub-counties have no facility at all. The President pledged new health units and upgrades including Atari, Bugudoi, and Nabiwutulu health centres to ensure every sub-county has at least an HCIII.
“We need a Health Centre IV per constituency and a Health Centre III per sub-county,” Museveni said. “All this is in our manifesto.”
Wealth Creation, Not Just Development
The President reminded residents that while development benefits everyone, wealth creation begins at home.
“Development like roads and electricity is for all of us, but wealth is personal,” he said. “It is dangerous to emphasize development and forget wealth.”
Through programs like Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Emyooga, and the Parish Development Model (PDM), he said, government is helping households transition into the money economy.
Bulambuli has already received Shs 37.7 billion under PDM, with 99.8% disbursed to nearly 39,000 households, representing over 70% of total families in the district.
Museveni also announced that families in Bulambuli and Ngenge in Kween will benefit from the national cattle restocking programme.
“It’s fair that Bulambuli and Kween are treated like Lango, Teso, and Acholi,” he said.
Support from Leaders
Kimamati Paul Michael, the NRM Chairperson for Bulambuli District, lauded the government’s record, noting that the district has benefited from over Shs 180 billion in development support in the last five years. He also called for the upgrading of Muyembe Health Centre IV to a district hospital and advocated for the establishment of Bugisu University to serve the wider Elgon region.
A Region That Remembers
With 79,699 registered voters, Bulambuli’s population has grown more politically active since the last election, where Museveni won 76.4% of the vote.
As dusk fell and the mountains glowed in the golden light, Museveni’s message, party memory, party manifesto, echoed across the valley: Peace, safety, and prosperity must go hand in hand.
“We have the peace. Now we must use it to build wealth and protect life,” he said.
