Africa-Press – Uganda. The formulation of the next cabinet has become the centre of national conversation as Ugandans speculate whether the incoming executive will finally lay bare the long-unspoken internal transition within the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
With the newly elected president set to be sworn in on May 12, 2026, the political atmosphere is defined by a forceful push for generational renewal alongside the strategic re-entry of long-serving party figures whose relevance may no longer be ideological but whose presence is seen as institutionally stabilising.
The president is expected to appoint an executive currently composed of about 80 ministers, though uncertainty remains over whether the administration will rationalise the expansive structure or enlarge it further to absorb new political pressures generated by the elections.
Speculation over how the cabinet will take shape has dominated corridors of power and political commentary alike.
A visible cohort of younger party figures, including Lilian Aber, Phiona Nyamutooro and Balaam Barugahara, has emerged as the public face of what many describe as an internal transition rather than a clean break from the past.
According to Prof. Gerald Karyeija, the president is navigating a complex political minefield where “the balancing of new forces, settling worrisome regions, and the political activity of some opponents will be critical.”
He argues that individuals regarded as “historically loyal” are now under closer scrutiny, noting that “we are seeing a time when the Bazzukulu increase, and many historicals could be offloaded or given peripheral advisory roles to dismantle social enclaves.”
NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong has meanwhile signalled that performance and discipline will outweigh sentiment in the forthcoming appointments.
He has warned that the cabinet will be shaped by what he describes as a “ruthless intolerance to laxity, indiscipline, and corruption.”
“What will shape this cabinet is how up to the task it is going to be,” Todwong said, adding that “we need to put the party agenda very carefully because these dynamics make the party diverse.”
He further revealed that a retreat would soon be convened to induct newly elected leaders, a process widely viewed as both orientation and final vetting ahead of cabinet selection.
Beyond the NRM itself, several political agreements are expected to influence the distribution of cabinet positions.
The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), which signed a high-stakes memorandum of understanding with the NRM before the elections, remains a key variable.
The Democratic Party’s cooperation agreement, though instrumental during the polls, appears less certain going forward, while the Uganda People’s Congress, operating under what insiders describe as a “silent MOU,” further complicates the arithmetic of power-sharing.
Prof. Karyeija observes that “strategic ministries might be handled by prolific individuals” drawn either from the PLU or from the youthful wing within the ruling party.
He also points to the continued influence of the Chief of Defence Forces as a factor that could shape how cabinet slots are allocated.
Ultimately, the 2026 cabinet is expected to offer the clearest indication yet of where real control within the NRM now resides: with the historical veterans who anchored the movement over decades, or with a rising generation of politically seasoned younger actors determined to take hold of the state’s steering wheel.
