UDA Top Leadership Flies to Meet Yoweri Museveni in 6-Day Trip

UDA SG Hassan Omar
UDA Secretary General Sen. Hassan Omar led high-level leaders in opening the UDA Office in Mandera County, February 2, 2025.
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UDA Party

A delegation of Kenyan leaders from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) quietly flew out to Uganda to meet their counterparts in the ruling party National Resistance Movement (NRM) during a six-day official visit.

In an official post by the NRM party, the UDA leaders arrived in Uganda on Tuesday, February 4. They were received at the Entebbe Airport by the NRM’s Director of External Affairs Major Awich Pollar.

According to Pollar, the two parties, being the ruling parties in the two countries, have a lot to learn from each other.

"A high-powered delegation of Kenya's ruling party, UDA has arrived in Uganda ahead of a six-day official visit to the National Resistance Movement (NRM). The two ruling parties share experiences and best practices and are willing to learn from each other," the post read in part.

NRM’s Director of External Affairs Maj. Awich Pollar
NRM’s Director of External Affairs Maj. Awich Pollar hosts a delegation of UDA leaders in Uganda, February 4, 2025.
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NRM Party

According to the schedule of the NRM Director of External Affairs, the UDA leaders are expected to meet with the party leader, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who will inform them of NRM's history and points of strength.

“In the spirit of the East African Community and the spirit of Africa, we thought that as progressive parties, we should share a lot in common. We have many activities for them. They want to see how we build our ideological strength," Pollar informed.

NRM leadership went on to reveal that the two political parties share similar missions of transforming the lives of the population and championing East Africa’s political federation. 

The visit to Uganda's NRM party by UDA did not come as a surprise as the party has always expressed its admiration for the longevity of Uganda's ruling party.

In October 2024, a delegation of UDA leaders visited the party in Uganda and expressed its readiness to benchmark its performance against the longevity of the NRM party.

"We admire that you have a good foundation to pick a leaf from and I will be looking forward to what structured partnership to learn from you (NRM). Kenya's history of political parties is that they evolve from one election to another,"  Joash Maangi, part of the seven-strong UDA delegation that visited NRM in October said at the time.

UDA’s Secretary General, Hassan Omar Hassan also in the October meeting, praised NRM’s leadership and resilience, calling the meeting a valuable learning opportunity for his party.

There have been talks by a section of UDA leaders to extend President William Ruto's term in office. Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei proposed a motion in the Senate to have the presidential term extended from five years to seven years.

The proposal elicited mixed reactions and rejection from Kenyans and a section of leaders.

Notably, UDA has been silent on the second visit to Uganda's NRM party.  UDA has been actively engaging with other global political parties. Recently, a delegation from the UDA visited China for talks with the Communist Party. 

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei at Parliament Building.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei at Parliament Buildings.
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Samson Cherargei