By Mulengera Reporters
Strategists inside NUP headquarters at Kavule have been left with no option but to agree with Dr. Kizza Besigye’s time-tested conclusion that the vote and mere balloting on its own can/will never remove Gen Museveni and his ruling NRM group from power. Nothing could have humbled such ever-bullish NUP think tank members like the just-released town councils and LC3s election results from Wakiso district.
The results that were released Friday early morning by Wakiso district returning officer Tolbert Musinguzi indicate that the NUP party, which had already taken Wakiso for granted being the home to Kyagulanyi’s Magere residence, was fatally obliterated by Museveni’s NRM.
Out of the 27 LC3/Town Council chairperson seats that had to be competed for, NRM grabbed 21 leaving NUP, the independents and other parties to share the remaining five. NRMs triumphed on both chairpersons and parish/ward councilor positions in all the town councils and sub counties of Wakiso.
At Wakiso district headquarters where Tolbert Musinguzi announced the results from in the wee hours of Friday morning, NUP’s Rosemary Namuwonge who has been the incumbent councilor for Nkumba Central ward in Katabi town council got so angry on being told she wasn’t the winner and furiously punched/beat up Nassiwa Aminah of the NRM who defeated her. Many NUPians, who had spent the night at the district headquarters were seen crying as they left the tally center after Tolbert Musinguzi announced the winners.
For the first time in many years, the NRMs won the LC3 Chairperson and Councilor positions in the following town councils and sub counties-Katabi, Kajjansi, Busi, Nansana, Nabweru, Gombe divisions, Bunamwaya in Makindye Ssabagabo, Masajja division, Namugongo and Bweyogerere in Kira Municipality. Many NUP candidates, who had to sell their property and take loans to be able to pay for the party ticket, were left devastated to the extent that many of them were heard pondering committing suicide.
The NRMs equally cruised to victory in the divisions of Entebbe A and Entebbe B. The NRMs equally swept Kyengera town council, Wakiso Mumyuka and all the other positions in Medard Segona’s Busiro East. They also won Kasangati town council where Bobi Wine’s Magere residence is located; Katabi, Masulita, Namayumba and Wakiso town council itself.
While Kyengera town council’s Joseph Ssemugenyi led the NRMs in staging jubilant celebrations at Wakiso district headquarters, many NUP supporters and foot soldiers were heard openly castigating Kavule for the chaos, impropriety and confusion that marred the candidates’ selection exercise, which is how and why many ended up standing as independents and in the process splitting the opposition vote. In the whole of Wakiso, NUP only had two LC3 chairpersons winning and DP one.
