KAMPALA – The United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Kenya’s ruling party, has commended the National Resistance Movement (NRM) on its ideological training, citing it as a key factor in the party’s enduring success. Hassan Omar, UDA’s Secretary General, led a high-level delegation to the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi, Uganda, where he praised the NRM’s leadership training and expressed his party’s desire to emulate this model.
Omar described the visit as an “honour” and a “journey of discovery” that would “illuminate our fantasies.” He revealed plans to establish a similar institute in Kenya to enhance ideological training for UDA cadres and produce grounded leaders. “We intend to build a similar institute in Kenya to enhance the ideological training of our UDA cadres to produce ideologically grounded leaders,” Omar noted.
The UDA delegation’s visit aimed to strengthen collaboration between the two parties and learn from NRM’s 40-year experience in power. Maj. Pollar Awich, NRM’s Director of External Affairs, welcomed the partnership, stating that NRM has maintained power due to its strong ideology and support from the people. “As the NRM party, we were lucky to partner with Kenya’s ruling party. We believe that you cannot learn from NRM unless you see the facts that bring out the NRM,” Awich said.
Awich revealed that during the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) meeting held in Uganda last year, the leadership of UDA led by Omar came to the NRM party offices seeking to strengthen collaboration for the betterment of the two countries. “They are here because they want to learn from us, and we also want to learn from them,” he added.
Col. Okei Rukogota, Director of NALI, emphasized the importance of ideology in guiding actions and shaping leaders. He noted that Kyankwanzi, founded by NRM’s foreleaders, provides a unique training ground for leaders. “Ideology is a package of ideas that guide actions. If you have wrong ideas or ideology, you will end up having lost decades and a false start,” Rukogota said, adding that at Kyankwanzi, they train people to become leaders.
Rukogota welcomed the delegation, adding that Kyankwanzi was the continuation of the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA). He noted that once their foreleaders learned that one could not acquire leadership skills from any university or school, this prompted them to set up the leadership school.
The partnership between UDA and NRM is expected to promote regional cooperation and strengthen the ideological foundations of both parties. As Kenya’s ruling party seeks to learn from Uganda’s experience, this collaboration may have far-reaching implications for the political landscape of both countries.
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