Ugandan presidential candidate Mubarak Munyagwa, leader of the Common Man’s Party (CMP), has sparked considerable debate with his campaign promise to abolish Swahili as a national language and elevate French to official status alongside English. Munyagwa argues that French offers significantly greater regional and international value for Uganda, a stance that challenges the country's recent linguistic policies.

Speaking at various campaign events, Munyagwa articulated his vision, stating, “We shall ban Swahili as our national language, we shall ban it. We need French instead. French has a wider coverage… We don’t need Swahili; we need English and French.” He highlighted that many of Uganda’s neighbors, including Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic, predominantly use French, suggesting this alignment would provide broader opportunities for Ugandans.

This proposal comes despite Swahili’s increasing importance in Uganda and the East African Community (EAC). Swahili was declared an official language in Uganda in 2005 and was officially adopted as its second national language in 2022, alongside English. Ugandan government officials have consistently emphasized Swahili's crucial role in fostering regional integration within the EAC, where it is widely used across countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and parts of Uganda.

Currently, English serves as Uganda’s primary official language, used extensively in government administration, educational institutions, and legal systems. Munyagwa’s plan suggests a fundamental shift in the nation’s linguistic priorities, favoring a language he believes offers more global and continental connectivity.

Munyagwa's argument for French’s