NAME BATTLE! PLUM Courts Gen Muhoozi As Promoter Insists “We Are Different From PLU”
A fresh name battle has erupted between the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and the proposed Patriotic League of Uganda Movement (PLUM), with the latter’s promoter welcoming Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to join the party and carry its flag in the 2031 presidential race.
Cankara Moses Mwaka, the chief promoter of PLUM, insists his proposed political party is different from the civic organisation headed by Muhoozi, President Yoweri Museveni’s son.
But PLU General Secretary Twalla Fadil has strongly rejected any suggestion that the organisation is registering as a political party, warning that anyone attempting to use its name, colours, symbols or identity without authorisation risks legal action.
In an interview, Mwaka said PLUM was open to all Ugandans, including Muhoozi, should he wish to contest for president in 2031.
“This PLUM is going to welcome everybody. If Gen. Muhoozi wants to contest for the president in 2031, we welcome him to join us. We shall support his candidature,” Mwaka said.
He added that the promoters were assembling a team which he believed would be strong enough to lead the proposed party.
The controversy intensified after a letter dated October 9, 2026, and signed by Mwaka circulated on social media. The letter, addressed to the Electoral Commission chairman, seeks reservation of the proposed party’s name, colours, symbols and slogan as the promoters prepare to begin the registration process.
The letter also requests written guidance on the requirements for assembling the national founders’ registers.
Asked whether the proposed name could cause confusion because of its similarity to PLU, Mwaka argued that the two organisations have different legal and political purposes.
“There is no confusion because PLU is a civic organisation which is recognised and registered by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau. But ours is intended to be a political party registered under the Electoral Commission. Therefore, there is a great difference between PLU and PLUM,” he said.
Mwaka further argued that the legal framework governing political parties prevented PLU from registering in the manner proposed by his group. He said his team had approached the Electoral Commission to reserve the name and related identifiers and was awaiting a response.
“I want to assure Ugandans that we are going to secure this name,” he said.
However, PLU has distanced itself from the initiative.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Fadil described claims that PLU was seeking registration as a political party as false and unauthorised. He maintained that the organisation would remain a civic body and pursue its political agenda through the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
“The Chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda has been unequivocal and consistent that PLU remains a civic organisation. It’s not, and will not, seek registration as a political party,” Fadil said.
He warned that any individual or group purporting to act on behalf of PLU, or using its name, colours, symbols or identity to seek political party status, would be acting without authority.
“Such actions risk immediate legal action by the Patriotic League of Uganda,” he added, urging the public and PLU members to disregard claims suggesting the organisation was registering as a party.
Fadil’s statement places the proposed PLUM registration at the centre of a dispute over the use of a name closely resembling that of an existing organisation.
Mwaka, meanwhile, disclosed that he had received calls from concerned PLU members, including Fadil, but declined to discuss the details of their conversations.
“Let everyone calm down. This is a newborn baby; it is a healthy child. Let everyone, including those in the civic organisation, join it,” he said.
Efforts to reach Fadil for further comment before his statement was provided were unsuccessful.
The Electoral Commission’s response to Mwaka’s request, including whether the proposed name and other identifiers can be reserved, remains a key outstanding issue. The circulation of the letter does not, by itself, establish that PLUM has been registered as a political party or that its proposed identity has been approved.
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