By Aggrey Baba
Electoral Commission Chairman Justice Simon Byabakama was conspicuously absent on Friday as hundreds of women delegates from all the 146 districts of Uganda gathered at Kyambogo College to elect the new National Women’s Council leadership.
The election, which brought to an end a long process that started from the village level and progressed through parishes, sub-counties and districts, was conducted under the supervision of the independent Electoral Commission of Uganda.
Yet, despite the significance of the exercise and the central role of the Commission in organizing it, Byabakama did not appear at the venue. Instead, EC was represented by its head of Public Relations, Julius Muchunguzi, who defended the Commission’s role and hailed the women for conducting a peaceful electoral process.
Muchunguzi first thanked returning officer Benjamin Ewal for presiding over the election in accordance with Uganda’s electoral laws.
He explained that although Ewal was the returning officer in charge of the proceedings, the Electoral Commission had remained behind the entire process.
“The Commission has been and continues to be behind and supporting all of the work that has been done,” he said.
Muchunguzi described the women’s electoral journey as a long one, stretching from the grassroots to the national level, and said their conduct offered lessons for other electoral processes.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate first the women of Uganda for constituting your committees from the village level to the parish level to the sub-county, to the district, and now to the National Women Executive Committee,” he said.
He added that the women had followed the electoral guidelines and laws and had conducted themselves peacefully and commended them for that.
But even as Muchunguzi celebrated the peaceful conclusion of the elections, the absence of his boss was difficult to overlook.
Byabakama is the chairman of EC, the constitutional body responsible for organizing and supervising elections in Uganda. His failure to attend an event that brought together national women leaders from across the country left unanswered questions about why he chose not to personally witness the conclusion of the process.
No explanation was offered at the event for his absence.
The election itself ended with all the key candidates going through unopposed after former ambassador Joy Ruth Acheng withdrew from the race in favour of Anne Ruyondo.
Acheng insisted that her decision was voluntary and was made in the interest of women and the ruling NRM, a party from which he has benefited a lot, according to her speech.
“I step down and nobody paid me. I did it for the interest of women and also the party,” Acheng said, further calling upon those who had supported her to now work with Ruyondo.
“Those who were supporting me, I call upon you to work with my sister Ana. We will work together with my sister because I’m the chairperson of Mbale District,” she said.
The chairperson elect, Ann Lumumba Ruyondo thanked Acheng for putting the party’s interests ahead of her own political ambitions.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Honorable Ambassador for thinking about the party. Thank you so much. I promise to work with you,” she said.
She also thanked the women for giving her their confidence and promised not to disappoint them.
“Some of you, are older than me, but you have given me your trust. I won’t disappoint you,” she said.
The new chairperson pledged to involve women in the affairs of the Council and work to strengthen its voice.
“I’ll work hard for this women council to be heard and seen,” she said.
She also paid tribute to the outgoing leadership, promising to build on its achievements.
“I will start from where she stopped. I will take it ahead. I’ll work hard for this women council to be heard and seen,” she said.
The returning officer, Benjamin subsequently declared Ruyondo Anne of the National Resistance Movement elected unopposed as chairperson of the National Women’s Council.
Agnes Kirabo Nantongo was declared vice chairperson, also unopposed, while Shakira Among was declared publicity secretary. Nankunda Hope was declared Secretary for Finance after also going through unopposed.
Nantongo pledged that the new leadership would serve women with courage and respect while ensuring that no woman was discriminated against.
“We shall ensure that we move together without any discrimination,” she said.
Nankunda thanked the delegates for trusting the team and promised that the new leaders would deliver on the promises they had made during the campaign.
“As we were campaigning, we promised a lot, and I’m sure with our chairperson, we shall deliver,” she said.
Emily Akullo, the programme manager and technical head of the National Women’s Council, congratulated the new leadership and urged them to exercise their mandate with humility, integrity and unity.
She also praised the outgoing executive committee led by Hajjat Farida Kiboowa, saying it had made sacrifices to strengthen the institution.
Akullo revealed that the previous women leaders had served for eight years since their election in 2018, correcting claims that they had remained in office for ten years.
She explained that amendments to the National Women’s Council law had now aligned the women’s electoral cycle to five years.
Akullo further urged the new leaders not to isolate those who had contested against them, encouraging them to work together and use former leaders as mentors.
The conclusion of the election was also overshadowed by the absence of President Yoweri Museveni from the planned swearing ceremony.
Akullo explained that the traditional handover and induction ceremony, which would ordinarily involve the President, could not proceed because Museveni was at the airport receiving the body of the late Omusinga of Tooro, King Oyo. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
