LIST: Former Ministers Who Have Bounced Back to Museveni Cabinet (2026-2031)

President Museveni.

President Yoweri Museveni unveiled his cabinet for the new term of office. Here is the list of former ministers who have bounced back to Museveni cabinet (2026-2031).

Former minister and Museveni’s long time ally from the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) days Dr Crispus Kiyonga is back to cabinet, as was projected by The Pearl Times months ago.

Dr Crispus Walter Kiyonga has been appointed the second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament.

Dr Crispus Kiyonga

A former Defence Minister, Dr Crispus Kiyonga secured the Bukonzo County West Member of Parliament seat in the January 2026 general elections on the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, defeating Godfrey Atkins Katusabe of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Also coming back is former security minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde Kakurugu who will now be Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

Tumukunde

Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde Kakurugu won the Rukungiri Municipality MP seat.

Tumukunde had also expressed interest in the deputy speaker job but withdrew from the race.

Returning to cabinet is Prof Ephraim Kamuntu who defeated Prof Elijah Mushemeza in Sheema South.

Prof Kamuntu will now become Minister of Internal Affairs.

Prof Ephraim Kamuntu

Also returning to cabinet was Harriet Ntabazi, who will now be State Minister for Lands in the new 2026–2031 cabinet, replacing Sam Mayanja, who was promoted to the powerful position of Attorney General. Ntabazi previously served as junior minister for trade.

You can see the list of ministers who were dropped from Museveni cabinet Here.

The list of new faces in cabinet for 2026-2031 term is Here.

You can see the full cabinet list with names of ministers that Museveni has appoint for the 2026-2031 term of office Here.

Read about NRM CEC members, former ministers’ relatives and the fired ministers that Museveni has consoled with presidential advisor and ambassador jobs Here, There and Over There.

Samuel Kamugisha

Samuel Kamugisha is a Ugandan journalist, editor, translator, language instructor, poet, fiction and non-fiction writer. A Makerere University graduate of Journalism and Communication with a decade-long experience in news reporting, writing and editing, Kamugisha is Editor at The Pearl Times. His other journalistic work was published by The Observer. When he is not doing journalism work -- which is rare -- Kamugisha will be reading or writing a short story or a poem, or caught up in the writer's block. His new children's book 'Friends of Plastics' has been published by Room to Read and Reading Association of Uganda and can be read here: https://literacycloud.org/stories/7887-friends-of-plastic/