*By John Kusolo*
In a significant move to bolster regional unity and integration, President Yoweri Museveni presided over the first-ever graduation ceremony of 304 Kiswahili students who completed a one-year course offered at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat. The event underscores the strategic importance of Kiswahili as a neutral, non-ethnic, and unifying language, particularly within the East African Community (EAC) and the African continent as a whole.
Addressing the graduates, President Museveni congratulated them for undertaking the course, which he described as crucial for regional communication and cohesion. He highlighted the role of Kiswahili as a language born out of necessity on the East African coast, originally used for trade. "Swahili is a neutral, non-ethnic, and unifying language that belongs to no single tribe," he remarked. "It is a tool that can bridge the diverse linguistic landscape of East Africa, fostering unity and promoting economic integration across our borders."
Museveni urged East Africans and Africans broadly to embrace their linguistic and cultural similarities, using Kiswahili as a powerful tool to drive economic, social, and political development. By learning and promoting Kiswahili, he believes that East Africans can more effectively work together to achieve the region’s shared vision of integration.
Meanwhile , the NRM Secretary General, Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, also spoke at the event, recounting the origins of the Kiswahili program at the party secretariat. Todwong explained that he was inspired to introduce Kiswahili lessons after consulting with Kiswahili facilitators in the Ugandan Cabinet. What began as a modest class of about 30 students, primarily civil servants, has expanded to a cohort of over 300 learners attending sessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This rapid growth, Todwong noted, has presented logistical challenges, including limited space to accommodate the increasing demand.
"The first students we had at the party secretariat were about 30. Most of these students were civil servants, or they were working," Todwong shared. "We later expanded to over 300 students... but our remaining challenge is limited space."
The increasing demand for Kiswahili lessons, both within and beyond the party, reflects the language's growing significance in Uganda and across the EAC. Todwong appealed to the government to provide support for the NRM’s Kiswahili program, emphasizing the national need for language proficiency that could facilitate greater regional cooperation and unity.
*NRM’s Broader Mobilization Efforts: Expanding Knowledge and Digital Access*
The Kiswahili training initiative is part of a broader strategy by the NRM Secretariat to advance socio-economic transformation and foster a deeper understanding of the party's ideology among Ugandans. Todwong revealed the introduction of a new digital library, an innovative resource where the public can access archives and valuable information about the party.
“With the digital library, the public can click from their computers and access the archives of the party and our resource information center,” Todwong stated. He also took the opportunity to request President Museveni to provide digital copies of his published works, which could then be included in the library, enriching the party’s resource center.
In line with the NRM’s commitment to mobilization, Todwong affirmed that the secretariat would continue to introduce educational and empowerment programs, ensuring that citizens are well-informed and equipped to participate actively in the socio-economic transformation of the country.
As the demand for Kiswahili education grows across Uganda, Todwong advocated for a nationwide rollout of the program to meet the high public demand. “There is a high demand for Kiswahili in the whole country,” he noted, urging the government to support efforts to expand language training across Uganda.
The move to integrate Kiswahili into the national educational landscape aligns with the wider East African Community’s efforts to make Kiswahili an official language of communication. In recent years, Kiswahili has gained prominence within East African nations as a unifying language, and it has been officially adopted as one of the working languages of the African Union.
The NRM’s efforts to promote Kiswahili echo a broader East African vision of unity and cooperation. With Kiswahili emerging as a common language, regional economic integration could be accelerated, creating more opportunities for cross-border trade, investment, and cultural exchange. For Uganda, a nation at the heart of the EAC, embracing Kiswahili not only enhances communication but also aligns with the government’s commitment to strengthening the regional economic community.
The inaugural Kiswahili graduation ceremony at the NRM Secretariat, attended by President Museveni and spearheaded by Secretary General Todwong, marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s journey towards linguistic inclusivity and regional unity. By championing Kiswahili as a bridge language, Uganda demonstrates its dedication to fostering an East Africa united not only by geography but by shared language and purpose.
This initiative is set to empower Ugandans, equipping them with skills that enhance mobility, integration, and economic opportunities within the EAC and beyond.
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