KAMPALA, Uganda (IP)
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of longtime Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, has assigned official identification numbers to members of his Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
Observers see as an early and carefully choreographed step toward a possible 2031 presidential bid.
In a statement, the PLU said the numbering system recognizes members’ “historical contribution” and seniority, with the prefix “PO” standing for “Patriotic Officer.”
For now, the designations apply to the Central Committee — the movement’s top organ — with more members expected to be numbered later.
At the top of the list, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Muhoozi himself as PO 001 — a detail that, while administrative on paper, carries the subtle symbolism of a man who appears keen to ensure there is no confusion about who is first among equals.
Media personality Andrew Mwenda was listed as PO 002, followed by businessman Michael Nuwagira, also known as “Toyota,” at PO 003.
Others named include lawyer Edwin Karugire, legislator Daudi Kabanda, and political mobilizer Balaam Barugahare.
Also on the list are Michael Mawanda, Lillian Aber, the late Cedric Babu, activist Frank Gashumba, Henry Basaliza and Fadil Twala.
While the statement framed the move as an internal organizational exercise, the structured hierarchy — complete with numbered ranks — has raised questions about whether the PLU is evolving into more than just a civic outfit.
Uganda has not officially opened the 2031 presidential race.
But in a political landscape where timelines often stretch as long as incumbencies, critics say such early preparations suggest a campaign that prefers to arrive years before the starting gun — and possibly rewrite when it is fired.
Muhoozi has in the past signaled political ambitions, sometimes directly and sometimes in ways that leave little to interpretation.
The numbering rollout, analysts say, may be less about administration and more about consolidation — a quiet way of taking stock of loyalists, assigning order and, perhaps, rehearsing authority.
For a country where power has remained within one family for nearly four decades, the idea of succession is no longer whispered — it is catalogued, numbered and, increasingly, formalized.
If this is not yet a campaign, it is at least a well-organized waiting room. And everyone, it seems, already knows their number.
