By Swift ReporterÂ
The Office of the National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) will on Tuesday, September 15, hold a special prayer and commemoration ceremony to honour fallen liberation fighters as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni marks his 82nd birthday.
The ceremony will be held at the Office of the National Chairman headquarters in Kyambogo, Kampala, and will bring together religious leaders from different denominations, surviving liberation fighters and families of those who died during Uganda’s liberation struggle.
The announcement was made on Monday, September 14, 2026, by Hajjat Hadijjah Namyalo, the manager of the Office of the National Chairman and Senior Presidential Advisor/Personal Assistant (SPA/PA).
According to Namyalo, the event will begin at 9:00am and has deliberately been organised to coincide with Museveni’s birthday as a way of linking the celebration of the President’s life and political journey with remembrance of those who made sacrifices during Uganda’s liberation struggle.
She said celebrating the achievements of the present should also involve remembering the people whose sacrifices helped shape the country’s history.
Namyalo described September as a significant month for the organisers, referring to it in Luganda as “omwezi omulamuzi,” which she associated with judgment and divine intervention. She also linked the significance of the month to Museveni’s birth.
“We are in preparation for the revival of our fallen warriors. We need to revive these spirits, pray for them and commit them to God,” Namyalo said.
She explained that the prayers would not only focus on the fallen fighters but would also extend to Ugandans currently going through difficult circumstances.
Religious leaders from different denominations are expected to lead prayers for the departed fighters, surviving veterans, their families and the country at large.
Namyalo said particular attention would be given to fighters who operated from Katonga during the liberation struggle, highlighting what she described as their resilience and determination during the armed struggle that eventually led to the capture of Kampala in 1986.
“Those people had God’s mercy, so we need to revive them and their spirits,” she said.
She added that the prayers would also seek to address what some participants may regard as spiritual burdens or curses believed to have followed the fighters and their families.
The ceremony will further bring together children of former liberation fighters, providing an opportunity for them to remember and celebrate the contribution of their parents to Uganda’s history.
Namyalo said involving the younger generation was important in ensuring that the story of Uganda’s liberation struggle and the sacrifices made by those who participated in it are not forgotten.
The commemoration comes as the NRM continues to place the 1981 to 1986 guerrilla war at the centre of its political history and narrative. The party has consistently highlighted the sacrifices of its early fighters as an important part of Uganda’s transition from armed conflict to the political order established after 1986.
In a message ahead of Tuesday’s ceremony, the Office of the National Chairman invited families and friends of both living and departed revolutionary warriors to attend, describing the gathering as an opportunity to celebrate, appreciate, remember and honour their sacrifices, contributions and legacies to Uganda’s liberation and nation-building.
For Namyalo, however, the event is intended to be more than a birthday celebration for Museveni.
She said remembering the fallen fighters provides an opportunity to return to the roots of the political movement, honour those who paid the ultimate price and reflect on the sacrifices that preceded the NRM’s rise to power.
As religious leaders, former fighters and their families gather at Kyambogo on Tuesday, the organisers expect the prayers to serve as a moment of remembrance for those who died, recognition for those who survived and reflection on Uganda’s journey from armed struggle to the present political era.
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