KAMPALA — Leaders of the Uganda Liberal Teachers Union have held talks with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) as the organisation intensifies efforts to expand its grassroots structures and mobilise support across the country.
The teachers’ union leaders were received on Monday at the PLU Chairman’s Office in Nakasero by the organisation’s Director of Mobilisation, Mr Michael Mawanda, who described the engagement as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation around what the organisation called a shared patriotic vision.
According to PLU, the union leaders pledged their support for its mobilisation activities and expressed willingness to work with the organisation as it expands its structures and community networks.
“Their commitment and enthusiasm to partner with the Patriotic League of Uganda is inspiring,” Mr Mawanda said in a statement after the meeting.
He said the partnership would focus on strengthening PLU structures, mobilising communities and advancing what the organisation describes as its patriotic agenda.
The meeting is part of a wider mobilisation drive by PLU, which has recently stepped up engagements with political and community groups as it seeks to broaden its national presence.
PLU’s official leadership structure lists Mr Mawanda, the Member of Parliament for Igara East, as its Director of Mobilisation, responsible for coordinating the organisation’s mobilisation activities.
The organisation has in recent weeks held engagements with different groups, including political actors and university student leaders, as part of efforts to build grassroots networks. PLU has also resumed public mobilisation activities, including barazas in different parts of the country.
Political context
The engagement comes as PLU continues to position itself as a national civic organisation focused on patriotism, national unity, community mobilisation and development.
The organisation, chaired by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, was formally launched in February 2024 after evolving from the MK Movement. PLU has described its mission as mobilising Ugandans around patriotism, transformation and unity.
However, its activities have also attracted political attention because of Gen Kainerugaba’s prominent position in Uganda’s political landscape and his association with the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
The Uganda Radio Network previously reported that PLU had sought to work alongside the NRM while also engaging members and supporters associated with other political parties. Its leaders have described the organisation as complementary to the ruling party rather than a replacement for it.
PLU’s current leadership structure was reshuffled in June 2026, with Mawanda retaining the mobilisation portfolio. The organisation says its mobilisation directorate coordinates its national grassroots activities and district structures.
The latest engagement with teachers therefore adds another professional group to PLU’s expanding network of community contacts.
Teachers and their professional associations occupy an influential position in communities because of their presence in schools and their interaction with parents, learners and local leaders. Any sustained partnership with organised teachers could therefore give PLU an additional avenue for community outreach.
It remains unclear, however, what specific programmes or activities the Uganda Liberal Teachers Union and PLU intend to undertake together, or whether the engagement will result in a formal partnership agreement.
The meeting is also significant because PLU has increasingly emphasised community-level mobilisation as it seeks to establish permanent structures across the country. Its official platforms say the organisation is seeking to connect citizens from village to national level around responsible citizenship, national unity and development.
For now, both sides have framed the engagement around cooperation and patriotism, with the teachers’ union leadership pledging support for PLU’s efforts to strengthen its grassroots structures.
