Inside Rebecca Kadaga’s 7-hour homecoming trail: day of loyalty, legacy
The morning of Friday, September 19, 2025, broke like any other in Jinja, but by mid-morning, the streets told a different story.
From the Nile stage in Buikwe district through the Nile bridge and on to Umbercoat roundabout, drumming crowds and fluttering flags announced that this was no ordinary day.
Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda’s First Deputy Premier and a towering political figure in Busoga for decades, was coming home. Supporters lined the roadside hours before her convoy appeared. When she finally arrived at Umbercoat at 11:30 a.m., the atmosphere erupted.
It would take more than two hours for her motorcade to cover the single kilometre to the Agricultural Show Grounds, where she stopped briefly to thank the cheering masses. For Kadaga, it was a triumphant yet bittersweet return. In her ten-minute address, she celebrated the loyalty of Busoga’s people but lamented what she called the kingdom’s “misplaced priorities.”
After championing the restoration of the Busoga cultural institution following a six-year leadership vacuum, she now sees some of its leaders as obstacles rather than allies.
“They have chosen endless disputes over meaningful community engagement,” she told the crowd, her voice carrying both pride and frustration.
The journey to Kamuli was slow and celebratory. Departing Jinja at 1:55 p.m., her convoy crawled three kilometres to the Railway Museum, again taking more than two hours. Along the Jinja–Kamuli road, crowds swelled in Mafubira, Namulesa, Mutai, Buwenge, Nawanyago and Budhumbula, paralyzing traffic and turning the highway into a corridor of drums, ululations and cultural dances.
Behind the cheers
Among the onlookers was Sylvia Kyebambe, a 72-year-old grandmother who has followed Kadaga’s career since her early days in parliament. “She is a hero,” Kyebambe said, “someone who has worked for Busoga when others only talk.”
For Robinah Nabwire, a businesswoman from Bugiri, the admiration is personal. As a teenage mother, Nabwire received a bursary from Kadaga that allowed her to finish school and start her own business.
“I wouldn’t be here without her help,” she said simply.
A legacy under fire
Kadaga’s convoy reached Kamuli Municipality Grounds around 7:00 p.m., where she delivered a more pointed message. She accused Busoga Kingdom premier Joseph Muvawala of misrepresenting her to President Yoweri Museveni and of failing to secure the return of kingdom property seized during Milton Obote’s regime.
“The President pledged to return our property,” Kadaga said, “but officials have failed to provide the necessary documents. Instead, they waste time criticizing me.”
Her words reflected a long career spent balancing loyalty to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) with advocacy for Busoga’s development. Though her political clout has waned since leaving the speakership of parliament, Kadaga signaled that her resolve remains unshaken.
“No amount of opposition or sabotage will deter me,” she pledged, reaffirming her commitment to the NRM and to the people who filled the roads to welcome her home.
A life of service
Among the dignitaries was Mohammed Lubega, Chairman of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council and Busoga Kingdom’s 1st deputy premier. He described Kadaga as a unifying force whose contributions stretch across every district in Busoga.
“Her dedication often comes at the expense of personal time with her family,” Lubega observed, “but she has never wavered in serving the people.”
As night fell over Kamuli, the music and chants continued. The day was more than a political rally; it was a testament to a relationship between leader and region that has survived shifting alliances and political storms.
For Busoga’s faithful, Rebecca Kadaga remains not just a politician, but a symbol of perseverance, and for Kadaga, the long, cheering road back to Kamuli was both a reminder of her enduring legacy and a call to keep fighting for the region she calls home.
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