A growing wave of discontent is sweeping through the NRM Entrepreneurs League delegates from Busoga region, as they unanimously distance themselves from Hajj Hassan Basajjabalaba’s bid to become National Chairman of the Entrepreneurs League on the ruling party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC).
With elections slated for August 25th, several delegates from across Busoga sub-region have declared they will vote against Basajjabalaba, citing his deep involvement in corruption scandals and a history of selfish enrichment at the expense of public trust.
“Basajjabalaba has never stolen on behalf of Ugandans—he has only stolen for his family and clansmen,” said Sarah Nabirye, an NRM delegate from Bugiri District. “The billions he pocketed from government compensation and shady land deals never empowered our local entrepreneurs, never built factories in Busoga and certainly never improved our lives.”
The strongest reference was made to the infamous Shs 142 billion compensation scandal, in which Basajjabalaba’s companies were paid by government for cancelled leases to public markets in Kampala payments that were later deemed fraudulent, unauthorised, and without legal basis.
“When we were struggling with COVID-19 business shocks, where was he?” asked Jackson Wakaze, a youth delegate from Iganga Municipality. “People like him were in courts, fighting to keep money that could have helped small businesses across Uganda. Yet now he wants us to call him a champion of entrepreneurs? Let him go back to his Bushenyi palaces.”
Another delegate, Mariam Nandutu from Mayuge, was more blunt:
“We are tired of the NRM being used as a retirement home for tainted billionaires. His wealth has not built industries, it has built walls around his empire. Let him run in Bushenyi, not Busoga. On August 25th, we shall send him home.”
Basajjabalaba’s tenure as a businessman has been marked by multiple legal battles from accusations of forged court documents, tax evasion, land grabbing, to his disputed leadership at the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) where he was recently ousted after a fierce power struggle.
“If someone failed to unite a religious institution like UMSC and chose instead to divide it for personal gain, how do we expect him to unite Ugandan entrepreneurs?” posed Peter Musoga, a delegate from Kaliro District.
The delegates also questioned the logic of rewarding impunity with power.
“He has nothing to show for entrepreneurs apart from headlines of corruption,” said Fatuma Namukose, a small-scale trader and delegate from Jinja Central. “Let us promote leaders who have helped build youth businesses not those who built case files.”
No Endorsement from Busoga
In a symbolic move, the delegates have resolved not to endorse any candidate with a history of fraud, pledging instead to support a leader with a clean record, entrepreneurial impact, and a national vision.
“Come August 25th,” said Waiswa Mulumba of Kamuli, “Busoga will speak clearly. We are sending a message to the party, we are not for sale and we will not endorse corruption.”
The rejection from Busoga a key voting bloc in the Entrepreneurs League casts a long shadow over Basajjabalaba’s campaign. With mounting resistance from other regions also being whispered in party corridors, his path to the CEC chairmanship is narrowing fast.
The NRM Entrepreneurs League election is set for August 25, 2025. Whether the delegates’ stand will ripple across the country remains to be seen, but in Busoga, the verdict is already clear: “Not on our watch.”
