Museveni, Saleh back consociation democracy plan to address Uganda’s political divisions

Gulu: In a bid to foster a peaceful transition in this country and to address the long-standing political divisions in the country, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his brother, Gen. Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), are backing a proposed Consociational Democracy Agreement (CDA).

The initiative is aimed at addressing Uganda’s longstanding political divisions, social exclusion, and historical grievances through an inclusive, government-wide program expected to run from 2026 to 2031.

The proposal seeks to establish a structured framework through which political parties, religious institutions, cultural leaders, civil society organizations, and communities can participate in resolving conflicts and addressing grievances that have historically contributed to political instability and social divisions in the country.

The proposal, developed through research commissioned by Gen. Saleh, was presented to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Caucus in June 2026, according to information provided by the initiative’s proponents.

Prof. Ogenga Otunnu, the principal adviser to Gen. Saleh, led the research that produced the paper, which examines the historical origins of Uganda’s sectarian divisions and proposes a national framework for addressing their underlying causes.

The research examined how CDA had helped to address political division in other countries across the globe, including Lebanon, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Belgium, and Switzerland, among others.

In an exclusive interview with this publication, Prof. Ogenga Otuunn explained that Uganda’s religious, ethnic, regional, ideological, and economic divisions have been shaped and reinforced by historical political processes, colonial policies, and successive governments.

He contends that lasting national unity requires more than agreements among political leaders, calling instead for a system that incorporates communities into decision-making and translates their concerns into government policy.

Prof. Otunnu’s research traces the roots of these divisions from precolonial Buganda through British colonial rule and the post-independence period.

It examines successive attempts at political cooperation, including the UPC-Kabaka Yekka alliance, the Uganda National Liberation Front coalition, and the NRM’s broad-based governance arrangements.

Otunnu argues that such initiatives sometimes delivered temporary stability but frequently failed to achieve lasting reconciliation because agreements were negotiated among political elites without sufficiently involving the communities they represented.

“Consociational Democracy Agreement as a mechanism for moving beyond elite-level cooperation towards a more inclusive and accountable system of national governance.” Said Prof. Ogenga Otuunu.

Five-year implementation program.

Under the proposed arrangement, implementation would run from 2026 to 2031, with government ministries expected to incorporate relevant commitments into their policies, programs, and budgets.

Each district would have its designated mobilizers responsible for sensitizing communities about the program, encouraging public participation, and gathering grievances from residents.

“The concerns raised at the community level would be channeled through the proposed implementation structures for consideration by the relevant government institutions.” Said Prof. Ogenga Otuunu, adding that “The objective is to translate identified problems into policy responses, funded interventions, and measurable improvements in public service delivery.”

The initiative’s proponents envisage drawing on resources across government ministries rather than establishing an entirely separate funding structure.

According to Otuunu, other development partners have also shown interest in funding this project, but they are waiting for guidance from the president, who is fully supporting the program.

The proposed framework also identifies land disputes, youth unemployment, unequal access to quality education, regional economic disparities, corruption, and poor public service delivery as priority issues requiring substantive intervention.

The research argues that national unity cannot be sustained through political accommodation alone if communities continue to experience exclusion from economic opportunities, public services, and decision-making.

Political parties and religious leaders engaged.

According to Prof. Ogenga, several political parties and religious leaders have reportedly been contacted about the proposed initiative and have expressed willingness to participate in its implementation.

He disclosed that the Democratic Party (DP) is on board, and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is on board, as well as the People Front for Freedom (PFF), Common Man Party (CMP), Uganda People Congress (UPC), and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), which have been reached and are also on board.

He says, “Political parties are coming with their various demands to the government, where PPF is demanding the release of Dr. Kizza Besigye,” and he says the committee has already been formed for dialogue. Besides PPF, other opposition parties are also tabling demands that their political supporters need to be released.”

Prof. Ogenga Otuunu says the CDA is different from the IPOD, and any political parties that have agreed to implement this policy still have the right to identify values and privileges.

“Other parties say they need to contact the grassroots structure before they can join,” said Otunnu.

He added that what they are looking  at is the bare minimum, something that the political party can agree to work on together with the ruling party, and if the opposition comes up with the demand that the ruling government feel it is not good for them, they still have the right to reject it because they are still in control of the state and state resources.

“Their involvement is expected to be central to the program’s effort to build cooperation across political, religious, and community lines,” Ogenga said.

The proposed agreement envisages a National Consociational Council comprising three permanent chambers: an Elite Cooperation Chamber for political-level negotiations; a Grassroots and Multi-Stakeholder Chamber to collect community concerns and facilitate public participation; and a Technical and Implementation Secretariat responsible for translating commitments into funded programs, timelines, and monitoring arrangements.

According to Prof. Ogenga Otuunu, the proposed council would provide a mechanism for bringing together political leaders and community representatives while ensuring that negotiated commitments are connected to government planning and expenditure.

The framework also calls for agreements to be published and made accessible to the public, including in local languages, to strengthen transparency and allow citizens to monitor implementation.

Independent monitoring, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and periodic reviews are among the safeguards proposed to prevent the initiative from becoming another closed political arrangement.

Building on Uganda’s political history

The CDA document acknowledges that Uganda has experienced several attempts at broad-based governance and political power-sharing, with varying degrees of success.

It identifies the initial NRM administration’s inclusion of political, religious, ethnic, and regional constituencies; the restoration of cultural institutions; negotiated settlements with armed groups; and the establishment of grassroots Local Council structures as important experiences from which the proposed agreement could draw lessons.

At the same time, it identifies unresolved challenges, including electoral credibility concerns, outstanding land grievances, youth alienation, disparities in educational quality, and limited public accountability in some political cooperation arrangements.

The research maintains that these challenges require sustained institutional responses rather than temporary political bargains.

It also argues that the proposed model should draw on indigenous African traditions of consensus-building, negotiation, and collective conflict resolution, alongside lessons from other countries that have adopted power-sharing arrangements to manage deep social divisions.

From community grievances to government policy

A central feature of the proposal is the intention to create a continuous link between community consultations and national policymaking.

Under the envisaged process, grievances would be identified using existing research, district records, and community consultations. Political leaders and grassroots representatives would then engage jointly to determine priorities and possible solutions.

Agreed commitments would be documented, linked to budgets and implementation timelines, and subjected to public monitoring. Unresolved issues and lessons from implementation would feed into subsequent rounds of national dialogue.

The paper argues that this approach could help ensure that communities historically regarded as outsiders or excluded from political and economic opportunities have a meaningful role in shaping public policy.

For the initiative to achieve that objective, however, its commitments would need to be matched by clear ministerial responsibilities, transparent funding arrangements, independent oversight, and demonstrable results at district and community levels.

The proposed Consociation Democracy Agreement is therefore presented as a framework for strengthening political cooperation while addressing the structural grievances that have repeatedly undermined national cohesion.

Its proponents face the task of translating the proposal into an agreed institutional arrangement with defined responsibilities, resources, and public accountability mechanisms over the proposed five-year implementation period.

The initiative’s ultimate test will be whether it can move beyond political declarations to deliver tangible improvements in inclusion, public services, economic opportunity, and citizens’ participation in governance.

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