FDC's Nandala rallies Namisindwa residents to grow more coffee in poverty fight
“Coffee is a symbolic name for Nandala. I made your coffee to gain value through the Bugisu Cooperative Union. By then, coffee was at shillings 4000 and it increased to 12,000. Now, it is at 18,000,” he says.
FDC's Nandala Mafabi explaining to voters how they can fight poverty using coffee at Busulwa trading centre in Tsekukulu sub-county in Namisindwa district on Friday, October 24. (Photos by Isaac Nuwagaba)
By Isaac Nuwagaba
Journalists @New Vision
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In his 2026 presidential campaign to eliminate poverty from the eastern region, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag-bearer Nandala Mafabi has asked residents to grow more coffee as the only way of fighting poverty in the region.
“Coffee is a symbolic name for Nandala. I made your coffee to gain value through the Bugisu Cooperative Union. By then, coffee was at shillings 4000 and it increased to 12,000. Now, it is at 18,000,” he says.
Nandala said on Friday, October 24, 2025, at Buketera ward, Bukhaweka town council in Namisindwa district, while addressing a campaign rally of the FDC supporters in the area.
“Eastern region in history has never had a leader who understands our problems. Nandala is the one to deliver power to the eastern region of Uganda after 40 years of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party under President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni," he assured.
Paul Webhukulu drying his coffee on a taplin with his child at Bukenesa, Busulwa trading centre in Tsekukulu sub-county in Namisindwa on Friday.
Ranking the most affected regions in Uganda, Nandala said that despite the abundant resources in eastern Uganda, locals have been left poor.
"Eastern Uganda ranks second after the Karamoja region in poverty levels. This is why I come with a streamlined agricultural campaign agenda to empower indigenous communities to fight poverty," he said.
Nandala later moved to Busambaza village, Buwabwala parish, Buwabwala sub-county. Other areas included Bukenesa village, Busulwa trading centre, Tsekukulu sub-county and Wasiamba cell, Luwa ward, Luwa town council, with the mammoth crowd attending the last rally at Magale in Namisindwa, where he was given a cow before proceeding to Bududa district with a similar message.
“Grow more coffee because we have designed a clear marketing strategy to get fair prices for locally produced coffee," he said.
We shall facilitate agriculture well with a 10% share of the national budget to make farmers a priority in our commercial agriculture approach.
“Because of high taxation policies, farmers have been neglected, and we do not seem to have a clear agricultural sector agenda for ordinary farmers," he observed.
We shall remove all taxes from agriculture-related inputs to make them affordable for all farmers to do meaningful agriculture, like solar-powered irrigation systems.
“Lack of irrigation plans from the government has made doing agriculture in different areas of Uganda expensive, and that's why doing agriculture has been a challenge in Karamoja region," he said.