Mbabazi supporters free to return to NRM - Museveni

President Museveni on Sunday met 54 political, religious and business leaders from Kanungu District at his country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura District, and among others, discussed the dismissal of 27 members from the ruling NRM party.

The officials that met the President include, among others, 19 district councillors, the district NRM chairperson, Mr Godfrey Karabenda, the chairperson of Southwestern Uganda Tea Nursery Bed Operators Association, Mr Frank Byaruhanga, Rev Fr Aloysius Ndama, the Dean of Macuro Parish, and Mr Charles Beshetsya, the district speaker.

The 27 members were expelled from the party after they were suspected of supporting former prime minister and NRM secretary general Amama Mbabazi who had fallen out with Mr Museveni and announced that he was running for president. Mr Mbabazi hails from the district and was until 2016 the MP for Kinkizi West.

Five of the expelled party members contested on Independent ticket and won sub-county and district councillor seats. They are Mr Nelson Natukunda (Kihihi Sub-county chairperson), Mr Pison Ndyabanawe (Nyakinoni Sub-county chairperson), Mr Zepha Mugisha (Kihihi Town Council chairperson), Mr Keneth Tumuhamye (Kanyantorogo Sub-county chairperson) and Ms Allen Turyasingura, the councillor for Kihihi Town Council.

“They carried dismissal letters. They told the President how they were chased. They were accused of supporting Go Forward (Mr Mbabazi’s campaign drive). They told the President that they want to get back into the party. He said they go back and that they should not have been expelled because NRM should be bringing people together,” Mr Beshetsya, who was the group leader for the Rwakitura meeting, said yesterday.

Museveni’s pledge
He added that the affected members requested to be given letters, allowing them back into the party to avoid legal challenges. Mr Beshetysa said the President promised to arrange a meeting for all members from the district that were expelled from the party.

“They were chased basing on rumours and this created disunity and poor performance of the party in the last presidential election; there have never been efforts to bring reconciliation,” Mr Byaruhanga said.

Mr Museveni got 56.7 per cent in Kanungu in the last presidential election.

The leaders said they asked the President to tarmac roads in the area, arguing that the number of tourists in the area stands at 39,000 per year. The major tourism roads are Hamurwa-Kerere-Rutenga-Kanungu and Kanyantorogo-Butogota-Mpungu-Ruheija-Omurubanda.

The leaders also reportedly told Mr Museveni that some sub-counties do not have health centre IIIs and seed secondary schools. Mr Byaruhanga said Mpungu Health Centre III that has been elevated to a health centre IV has no ambulance. The President reportedly promised to address their concerns.

The leaders are also said to have told Mr Museveni how the tea project he started supporting in 2008 has improved the economic status of the residents. They reported that there are 12,000 tea growers in the district and three factories. Tea growing and processing employs about 100,000 people.

The leaders, however, reportedly told the President that tea nursery bed operators, who supply tea seedlings to farmers, have never been paid.

Tea operators’ demands
“We told him that suppliers were never paid and many ran away from their homes because they had acquired loans and others have died,” Mr Beshetsya said.

“When he asked why nursery bed operators have never been paid yet verification was done, we told him that we don’t know,” he added.

Mr Byaruhanga said the President promised to ensure that suppliers are paid.

A total of 711 farmers under Southwestern Uganda Tea Nursery Bed Operators Association claim to have supplied 201 million seedlings to farmers in districts of Kanungu, Mbarara, Kabale, Rubanda, Kisoro, Rukiga, Ntungamo, Kamwenge, Mitooma and Rukungiri from 2015 to 2017. They are demanding Shs143 billion.

Government has carried out verification exercises of the beneficiaries of seedlings and nursery bed operators. The latest was carried out in May by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Operation Wealth Creation and National Agriculture and Advisory Services (Naads).

Tea nursery bed operators protested against the second verification exercise, saying some of the seedlings were destroyed by drought in 2017. Mr Byaruhanga said they have evidence of having supplied 201 million seedlings because districts verified them.