In the story of nations and communities, there comes a moment when people must decide whether they will remain prisoners of division or rise into the dignity of unity. Busia District, within the wider Bukedi Sub-region, experienced such a moment in 2021.
With 163,571 registered voters, the NRM presidential vote stood at 44,679 (46.5%), narrowly behind NUP’s 45,166 (47%). That election season was marked by deep internal tensions within the ruling party, and in local political conversations, Hon. Mulimba was frequently mentioned in connection with fierce internal primaries and struggles that, according to party voices and public perception, weakened unity and left the movement fragmented.
As Chinua Achebe reminds us, “When the house is on fire, no one should be blamed for looking for water” yet Busia at that time was searching for both direction and harmony.
Across Bukedi, the lesson was painful but clear: when a people lose unity, even strong political institutions begin to tremble. Campaign structures weakened, trust between cadres declined, and the grassroots energy that once defined the NRM became inconsistent. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” In Bukedi’s 2021 experience, that warning echoed quietly through villages and trading centres, as voters responded not only to national messages but to the visible condition of local political cohesion.
It was in this atmosphere that the absence of Hon. Ambassador Barbara Nekesa Oundo, serving abroad in South Africa at the time, became deeply felt in local political reflection. Without her presence in the grassroots machinery during that cycle, many later observed that Busia lacked a steady hand to harmonize structures and unify competing voices.
As Jesse Jackson has often emphasized in his political philosophy, “Leadership means bringing people together where others would divide them.” In 2021, that unifying rhythm was missing in Busia’s local political orchestra.
By 2026, the story began to change not through noise, but through rebuilding. Hon. Barbara returned with a spirit of organization, patience, and deliberate restoration. She reconnected village structures, revived women and youth networks, strengthened coordination across districts, and restored confidence in the NRM grassroots system.
Under her leadership, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni secured over 60% of the vote in Busia, while all NRM parliamentary flag bearers were successfully elected. This was not merely electoral success it was, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., a demonstration that “faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Today, Busia’s political reflection carries a deeper moral lesson. Some still revisit the tensions of the past and the role of Hon. Mulimba in that turbulent chapter, while others urge that history be read not as a weapon but as a teacher. What remains more visible in public discourse is the contrast between fragmentation and restoration.
Hon. Barbara is increasingly described by supporters as a servant leader humble in approach, steady in action, and committed to transparency and party loyalty. Chinua Achebe’s wisdom rings true here: “A man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself.” Busia now stands at a different place one shaped by reconciliation, strengthened by unity, and inspired by leadership that understands that true victory is not only in winning elections, but in healing a people.
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