By Aggrey Baba
Trouble is boiling inside NRM after several losing candidates in last week’s party primaries rejected the results and rushed to the newly formed tribunal to file complaints.
By Saturday evening, the NRM legal office had received at least 20 petitions from aggrieved aspirants. According to Enoch Barata, the party’s director of legal services, more petitions are expected in the coming days.
“Every candidate has five days from the day results are declared to file their complaints,” Barata said, adding that petitions can be submitted physically at the Nakasero offices or by email, but must be signed by at least 50 voters from the constituency.
This comes as the party continues to struggle with chaos in several areas, especially Hoima and Kiboga, where results are still contested and tempers remain high.
“When the drums change rhythm, the dancers must also adjust,” an African proverb goes, but some candidates are clearly refusing to adjust.
In Hoima district, what started as a simple vote count ended in total confusion, with the returning officer, Joseph Kutegeka, first announcing Amlan Tumusiime as the winner for the Bugahya MP flag. But within minutes, he reversed himself and declared incumbent MP Pius Wakabi instead.
A similar blunder happened in the Woman MP race, where Beatrice Wembabazi was first announced, but later Harriet Businge was declared the winner, leaving party officials scratching their heads.
The party Electoral Commission Chairman, Dr. Tanga Odoi has so far assured the public that the returning officer is going to be punished.
“You can’t declare two people as winners for the same seat. That’s not just confusion, but indiscipline,” Said Odoi
To make matters worse, the Hoima District Security Committee suggested that Kutegeka be taken for a mental health check-up due to his strange conduct. Odoi, however, warned security against rushing such decisions before the party completes its own investigations.
Meanwhile in Kiboga West, 28-year-old former teacher Eria Erick Lule shocked many when he defeated sitting MP Abdul Ssettuba Mutumba. Lule, also known for running private schools and managing musicians, won by just over 100 votes.
His supporters are calling it the rise of a new generation, bringing to life an African narrative that “even a young tree can still produce sweet fruit.”
The incumbent is not accepting defeat and he has petitioned the tribunal, claiming that voting registers were tampered with, results were falsified, and votes from some polling stations were cancelled unfairly. Hr has so far threatened to stand in upcoming 2026 general elections as an independent, should the part fail to handle the situation.
However, Barata has cautioned that anyone who defies the tribunal and runs outside the party will be treated as undisciplined because an old adage goes, “When the house has elders, you don’t shout from the rooftop,” and all aggrieved members are urged to respect party structures.
The party chairman and president of Uganda, YK Museveni recently appointed senior lawyer John Musiime to head a 29-member tribunal to handle all complaints from the primaries, and the tribunal is expected to decide each case within seven days after a petition is filed.
But with emotions high and accusations flying, many are watching closely to see if the tribunal will be firm and fair, or just another rubber stamp.
Out of the 499 positions contested in the primaries, the NRM electoral commission has only five left to announce, including the hotly contested Hoima Woman MP seat, while in Kakumiro, polling didn’t happen in seven villages and must be repeated.
Dr. Odoi said in Hoima, everyone is claiming they won and his commission is going through the forms one by one.
With more disputes expected to pour in this week, the party faces a serious test of unity, and for now, one clear thing is that many losing candidates are not ready to bow out quietly. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
