Charles Rwomushana is not your everyday Ugandan politician. He’s been many things—intelligence operative, student activist, presidential aspirant, guild president, TV panelist, and critic of power structures. And through it all, one thing remains consistent: he speaks his mind, even when it shakes the table.
Let’s rewind and walk through the courageous life of Rwomushana, a man whose journey started in a small village and led him straight into Uganda’s political trenches.
Born in Rukungiri, Named in the Bush
Charles Rwomushana was born in Kahoko village, Nyakagyeme Sub-county, Rukungiri District. His parents, Winnie Safira Tumubwine and the late Joseph Rwakinwa, raised him alongside many siblings. The name Charles? That came from a guitarist, Charles Sonko, who was playing a welcome song right after Rwomushana was born. Not many people can say they had a live soundtrack at birth.
Catholic by Cholera, Student by Conviction
Although he should have been Anglican, Charles was baptized Catholic in a hurry—there was a cholera outbreak, and his family feared he might not survive to receive the First Sacrament later.
At school, he stood out early. While his peers went to make money fishing in Rwenshama, he stayed in class. He later joined Bugangari Secondary School, where he ran for head prefect and promised to improve school meals. Back then, the students only got sugarless porridge. But Charles had bigger dreams: “Why can’t Bugangari also have posho and beans like Kashenyi Secondary?” he asked.
From School Fights to Leadership Fights
After Bugangari, he moved to Mbarara High School. What drew him? The school’s legendary fights with Ntare School. He wanted in. But his combative spirit wasn’t limited to school rivalries. In Senior Five, when noisy students interrupted his reading, he confronted them himself—no teachers involved. The move almost cost him his life when the group turned on him. He had to hide for a week.
That fire stayed with him into university.
The Guild President Who Bought a Car Instead of Flying to Canada
In 1992, Rwomushana became Guild President of Makerere University. The role came with a paid trip to a student conference in Canada. But he didn’t go. Instead, he used the money to buy a car. His reason? It was more useful to the student guild than a trip abroad. A bold move, and very on-brand.
Military Drills Before Primary One
His revolutionary instincts go way back. As a kid, he organized over 100 boys his age into military formation. This wasn’t play. When Tanzanian forces came through Rukungiri, they found the kids lined up like little soldiers. “One child was shot as the soldiers battled hippos,” Rwomushana later said.
Losing to Muhwezi, Winning Influence
In 1994, he ran for the Constituent Assembly seat for Rujumbura. Despite being dismissed as “Ka boy,” he gave it his all. He lost to Jim Muhwezi in what he called a violent election, but his reputation as a fearless, straight-talking leader was sealed.
A Spy in the System
In 2001, Rwomushana was appointed Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Pader. Later, he was redeployed to head political intelligence at ISO. But by 2008, President Museveni had dropped him. Rwomushana insists he’d already resigned—he was opposed to the lifting of term limits and had sided with PAFO leaders like Eriya Kategaya and Augustine Ruzindana.
The 2021 Presidential Aspirant
In 2020, he officially declared interest in running for president. His lawyers wrote to the Electoral Commission seeking permission to hold consultations. Rwomushana wanted to hear directly from the people—and probably tell them a few hard truths too.
“We act for and on behalf of our client, Charles Rwomushana, a presidential aspirant in the forthcoming presidential elections schedule for 2021,” reads the letter to the EC chairperson.
Clashing With Mwenda and the UCU
Rwomushana hasn’t held back when it comes to criticizing elites. When Andrew Mwenda mocked Makerere University students for protesting tuition hikes, Rwomushana hit back: “Andrew Mwenda is a beneficiary of paid for education. The society must feed and educate children. Do students need to strike for you to know there is a problem?”
”We’re discussing whether the idea of introducing tuition in public universities is needed. I come from a background where a peasant sells all his property to get their children in school. All the schools I’ve gone to are the church and community-funded schools.”
”Parents take their children through school knowing the government will get them through university. If the state didn’t pay for Mwenda’s tuition, he’d be a hooligan in the village,” he said.
He also told off UCU for charging high tuition fees, calling it “an outrage” and accusing the institution of “stealing from the poor in the name of education.”
“It’s an absolute outrage because education is a right’ and that such actions mean that students from poorer backgrounds will shy away from higher education, to their and the country’s detriment.’
“There is no Christianity in that institution,” he added.
A Voice That Won’t Be Silenced
In 2016, he was arrested for defamation and inciting violence. In 2020, he was arrested again—for violating curfew after appearing on NBS TV. But he didn’t stop speaking. On that same TV show, he called out the host, Charles Odongtho, for failing LDC pre-entry exams, turning the studio into a moment of awkward truth and laughter.
Rwomushana on Unity and Power
When Kizza Besigye and Bobi Wine announced their United Forces of Change, Rwomushana defended UPC’s absence, reminding people that political parties operate based on internal decisions, not just popular pressure.
“UPC is a political grouping, no doubt about that. So if you are going to unite with another grouping, then you unite by way of structures. Because it should be on the ground as a structure, and those decisions are taken at the level of delegates conferences,” he said.
“You cannot say that when Besigye meets with Kyagulanyi, then those are millions of people who voted Besigye, no. They could have voted Besigye because they wanted Museveni to go.”
Lastly
Charles Rwomushana is many things: a rebel with a cause, a politician with scars, a thinker with no filter. Whether you agree with him or not, one thing’s for sure—he won’t go quietly. In a country where speaking truth to power can come at a high price, Rwomushana continues to do just that.
Because in his own words:
“A state provoked by children is a hooligan state.”
Got thoughts on Rwomushana’s political journey? Drop them in the comments below. Uganda’s political story isn’t complete without voices like his.
