By Mulengera Reporters
The recent public rant by Gen Elly Kayanja about lack of internal democracy inside NRM has resulted into a surge in the political support for NUP party and more so its Rakai Woman MP Candidate Grace Nalubega. This new momentum is well corroborated in the latest intelligence brief the security agencies have authored for the President.
The brief aimed at assessing the impact Gen Elly Kayanja’s public outbursts have had on the support of the President and generally the NRM party in Buganda region.
The intelligence report indicates that the support of Grace Nalubega among Rakai voters has swollen to 85%, as a result of the chaos inside NRM. This is explained to be the case because the fighting between Asha Kayanja Lubyayi, the General’s sister, and Juliet Kinyamatama over who should carry the NRM flag has benefited Nalubega, the joint Rakai Woman MP candidate for the opposition.
Asha Kayanja’s supporters hate Kinyamatama partly because of ethnicity and are determined to revenge and send a strong message to Museveni by giving a protest vote to Grace Nalubega.
There is also a section of NRM cadres who are out against Kinyamata in order to protest Buyamba MP Ssemwanga Gyavira’s leadership as NRM Rakai district Chairman. They are angry that Gyaviira recently used money and closeness to Gen MK’s PLU to have the local NRM elections rigged in his favour.
The intelligence brief indicates that there is a big possibility that all these anti-Gyaviira grievanves could advantage NUP’s Nalubega, while further alienating Kinyamatama whose relationship with the Buyamba MP continues to be the subject of a lot of speculation.
The area RDCs have also been holding meetings where the growing Nalubega threat has continued to be discussed. That the NUP candidate, who has been standing for the area MP seat since the year 2011 and has over the years accumulated lots of sympathy vote, is going to be hard to beat.
At the district security meetings, some have suggested that the state finds ways of working with her because out rightly stopping her victory in 2026 will cause bloodshed and create bad publicity for Gen Museveni’s regime.
Some are of the view that, to appease the anti-Kinyamatama public opinion and generally calm down the NUP/opposition that has rapidly been growing as Rakai urbanizes, the clearly unstoppable Nalubega be allowed to win in 2026.
There are many reasons why majority young people in Rakai currently favour Nalubega who has always been the lone opposition figure in the politics of Kooki Rakai.
First of all, a lot of Rakai residents are sympathetic that she has been through a lot at the hands of Juliet Kinyamatama and her predecessor Maria Lubega Mutagamba. She has been offered a lot to betray the people but she has always kept to the cause.
In 2011, she stood with Mutagamba when it was still one Rakai district and against Kinyamatama in 2016 after Mutagamba retired. The NRMs, including Mutagamba, wanted her to join the ruling party and carry their flag, which she declined making it clear her heart was in opposition. She had been DP since her days at Makerere only to defect to NUP when Bobi Wine emerged in the late 2010s.
Mutagamba wasn’t comfortable being succeeded by Kinyamatama, because of ethnic differences, and tried to market Nalubega to Museveni but the former Zambogo Chairperson declined saying her heart didn’t like NRM. Mutagamba tried to involve then Masaka Catholic Diocesan Bishop JB Kaggwa who caused meetings to be convened at Kiteredde in Kyotera but still Nalubega maintained her no against any unprincipled deal-making with NRM.
Kabugu the Kalisizo Town Council Mayor and a one Sewandonda, who headed the politics & social justice department in Masaka diocease, were unleashed to sweet talk her to come in Mutagamba’s place inside NRM but still, Nalubega declined asserting that she didn’t want to have anything to do with NRM.
This makes voters of Rakai to appreciate Nalubega in a unique way and for the youths, who are the majority, her loyalty to NUP ought to be rewarded by sending her to Parliament come 2026.
They sometime back mobilized themselves and bought a Premio for Nalubega to be able to move around the constituency.
When it got involved into an accident, the supporters promised to fundraise for another one for their honorable to be able to move around comfortably. They remain convinced that she is a good candidate except that she is broke and financially constrained.
So, on Sunday 24th August, those same youths and foot soldiers based in Rakai have organized a big public event to amplify their fundraising efforts for Nalubega at Lumbugu trading center playgrounds.
They are excited that Kavule, having seen the opportunity to grab the Rakai Woman MP Seat from Kinyamatama, has directed all NUP MPs to drive to Rakai and attend the event in large numbers and also contribute money for the cause.
The organizers are thankful to Bobi Wine and Kavule and are expecting many MPs to turn up and embolden Grace Nalubega by making big anti-Kinyamatama pronouncements and also by making cash contributions in the NUP spirit.
Kavule is seeing this as an opportunity to widen its reach into that part of Uganda’s central region and Bobi Wine is determined to ride on Gen Elly Kayanja’s recent outbursts, exposing the NRM, to turn tables on Gen Museveni in Kooki Rakai, which has always been his stronghold territory. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
