Abraham Luzzi unveils six-pillar reform plan
Abraham Luzzi, the Kampala businessman.
By Our reporter
KAMPALA – Abraham Luzzi, the Kampala businessman who has branded himself “Mr. Economy,” is emerging as one of the more unconventional figures in Uganda’s 2026 parliamentary race. Running as an independent candidate for Kampala Central MP, Luzzi has unveiled a detailed six-pillar reform manifesto that blends technocratic ambition with populist urgency and positions him as both an outsider and a reformer.
The manifesto, launched under the slogan “Sarah Is Tall,” outlines sweeping proposals across governance, economics, justice, and urban reform. While Luzzi’s slogan borrows affectionately from his wife’s nickname, it also signals elevation, a metaphor for standing tall in integrity, ambition, and national renewal.
“Together, we can build a Uganda that works for every citizen not just the privileged few,” Luzzi declared at the launch, signaling his campaign’s underlying critique of entrenched privilege and political complacency.
At the heart of Luzzi’s platform is a political restructuring agenda that would, if implemented, upend Uganda’s parliamentary and administrative status quo. His proposal to shrink Parliament from over 500 to just 80 MPs and cut MP salaries by half from Shs40 million to Shs 20 million reads as both fiscal conservatism and populist theater.
He argues that by-elections should be abolished altogether to save billions, proposing instead that parliamentary replacements be drawn from the previous election’s runner-up list. His plan for digital-only campaigns aims to reduce vote-buying, a nod to his business background where efficiency and cost-cutting are sacrosanct.
“Leadership should not be about who shouts the loudest but who delivers results,” Luzzi said, emphasizing competence and integrity over populism.
The logic is clear: streamline government, cut waste, and demand accountability. But whether such austerity-driven governance could work in Uganda’s complex political ecosystem remains an open question.
In his economic proposals, Luzzi fuses pro-worker rhetoric with investor-friendly pragmatism. He promises a minimum wage of Shs 200,000 for all workers, higher salaries for doctors and teachers, and 24-hour government payment cycles for suppliers all measures that could ease liquidity pressures across the economy.
He also champions local business empowerment, urging the state to prioritize Ugandan companies in contracts and infrastructure projects. His Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model for road construction mirrors strategies used in Asia to attract private capital without overburdening public debt.
It’s a model rooted in his entrepreneurial background Luzzi’s business empire spans gold mining, agro-processing, and logistics but it also carries the tension between his reformist zeal and the fiscal realism such promises demand.
Luzzi’s justice agenda may be among his most quietly transformative ideas. He calls for alternative sentencing for petty crimes, arguing that Uganda’s overcrowded prisons many operating at more than double capacity, are a drain on public resources and human potential.
By promoting fines instead of incarceration, Luzzi estimates a 40% reduction in prison populations. His vision extends to faster court processes and simplified bail systems, arguing that the justice system must serve both fairness and efficiency.
This, too, reflects his managerial approach to governance as systems optimization rather than political symbolism.
Kampala’s urban challenges feature prominently in Luzzi’s plan. He proposes a Rent-to-Own housing policy, allowing tenants to acquire property after 10 years of consistent rent payments. The proposal aims to address the city’s chronic housing shortages and growing informal settlements.
His “smart city” vision also includes digitized land management, reorganized transport networks, and construction of two-lane roads with dedicated cycling, pedestrian, and emergency lanes.
Administratively, he pushes for deep digitization of government systems: every Ugandan would receive an automatic National ID and passport at birth, backed by an integrated citizen database. He promises 24-hour payment systems and real-time procurement monitoring a data-driven government, in his words, that “moves at the speed of business.”
His rivals NUP’s Lewis Rubongoya, NRM’s Minsa Kabanda, Suzan Kushaba, and sports administrator Moses Muhangi represent formidable partisan blocs. Luzzi’s appeal, then, lies in his anti-establishment message and business-minded credibility.
He insists that Uganda’s future depends on the discipline of enterprise, not the excesses of politics. His slogan “Sarah Is Tall” may sound quirky at first, but its subtext is serious: a call for Uganda to stand tall again.
