As the country prepares to receive the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday afternoon, more people continue to voice their expectations.
President Yoweri Museveni is expected to address some of the pertinent issues relating to the state of Uganda’s political social and economic environment in his annual address at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala.
In 2025, the State of the Nation Address, delivered on June 5th was a blend of optimism and caution, addressing the country’s economic growth, security, and social development.
The address also highlighted the achievements in various sectors, including infrastructure, health and education, while also addressing challenges and future priorities including the launch of the 4th National Development Plan.
But what do Ugandans expect today? Political analyst Moses Nuwagaba Entwiga, is hoping for a major shift in development priorities.
Speaking to KFM ahead of the SONA, Mr. Nuwagaba criticized the government’s approach to development, saying taxpayer money is spent on politically motivated programs that yield no results.
He also urged President Museveni to prioritize industrialization in his current term, noting that if the sector is heavily invested in it could help in making a shift in development.
“The president of Uganda needs to make a departure from rhetoric and lip service to industrialization and become serious about it. You can take a road to an area, you follow it with electricity, you follow it with water, clean water, and then you know that there is skilled, awesome skilled labour, but it’s not working, it’s idle, it’s unutilized or underutilized,” Nuwagaba said.
The president of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mr. Patrick Oboi Amuriat has called on President Museveni to use the SONA to explain how his government intends to uphold the rule of law, strengthen good governance, and respect human rights.
I believe that there is a need for Mr Museveni tell the nation how he intends to transform the economy of this country, and not just how he is going to change this country for the better, as the listeners will appreciate, there is endemic poverty, especially in the countryside, even, you know, around the city. People are very poor, people can hardly afford to milk a day and, you know, for him, this is a person who has been in power all this time,” Mr Amuriat said.
Mr. Amuriat also urged the government to release political prisoners.
I also expect the head of state to address the country on how he intends to observe the rule of law and respect for human rights. Many citizens who are political are languishing in prisons and their fault is to raise issues against the establishment and so they are really suffering because they took a conscious decision to oppose the status quo with good reason and so they should not be subjected to punishment,” he urged.
