A photo montage created on March 17 shows ruling NRM party leader, President Museveni while left is opposition NUP party President Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine. Centre is the March 13 voting day in the Kawempe North by-election in 2025. PHOTO/COMBO
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was torn between upholding the Kawempe North by-election and rejecting it as internal clashes took centre stage during the Central Executive Committee (CEC) at State House last Friday.
Multiple sources that attended the meeting but preferred anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, told Monitor last evening that two extreme sides emerged as one indicated that the election was marred with violence, impunity and vote rigging therefore, rendering the election null and void.
The other side, according to the source, held the unpopular opinion among the members as they indicated that many polling agents of NRM managed to retrieve and deliver declaration forms to the tally centres, arguing that there was a vote and, therefore, the election should be upheld.
“We were dealing with two extremes but legally, we shall struggle to answer the question of substantiality. Politically, we have a case but not legally and I hope our lawyers will look into this matter,” one of the sources said, adding, “For a matter of fact, there was voting in many polling stations without any kind of violence.”
Sources also indicated that the unanimous decision was in agreement that there was no voting in the election based on the fact that at Kawempe Mbogo, the polling station where Ms Faridah Nambi, the NRM candidate voted from with six others in the same, all votes were cancelled due to violence.
National Resistance Movement (NRM) party leader, President Museveni (R), poses for a photo with its flagbearer in the Kawempe North by-election, Faridah Nambi, during the final campaign day in Kampala on March 11, 2025. PHOTO/HANDOUT
The NRM contends that their candidate had an upper hand at her polling station and voting which they say is found in one of the most populated parishes in the constituency with more than 40,000 voters.
President Museveni’s statement released last evening on his X (formerly Twitter) indicated that votes from 50 out of the 197 polling stations were cancelled, blaming the mistakes on the election officials in the areas who failed to cover up the gaps.
“The following allegations have come up: ballot papers stuffing, altering results, destroying ballot boxes in Kazo-Angola, Mbogo Mosque zone, etc, because, apparently, some people did not want those votes to be counted, campaigning at polling stations, intimidation, violence, etc. The heavy deployment of security forces may have stopped mass violence but it could not stop these micro crimes that should have been managed by elections officers," read President Museveni’s statement.
Figures read by the returning officer at the tally centre in Makerere University in the wee hours of Friday indicated that only 406 votes were invalid in the chaotic election that had a voter turnout of only about 15 percent of the more than 199,000 registered voters.
National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate in the Kawempe North Member of Parliament by-election, Elias Nalukoola Luyimbazi (R) and his lawyer George Musisi (L) address journalists at High Court after filing a case against government over torture by JATT operatives. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
President Museveni’s statement attributed the low voter turnout to the violence of both NRM and the Opposition indicating that everybody shall have to be held accountable for the mistakes that could have occurred.
“Those who intimidate NRM supporters must stop and apologise to those you have intimidated. Those of the language: yemwe mutusibyeeko NRM (loosely translated as you are the reason NRM is stuck here), must stop. Respect Ugandans,” President Museveni said in a statement.
Last week, shortly after the announcement of the results, the Executive Director of the Uganda Media Center, Mr Ofwono Opondo, said: “There is increasingly bad manners in the NRM. There is a lot of entitlement and loss of direction. The NRM hasn’t won that seat in a long time. My understanding was that NRM was going to participate mainly to show that it is a good party.”
On Friday, the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) rejected the Kawempe by-election results. The ruling party’s top organ met and resolved to instruct its lawyers to legally challenge the results in the courts of law for justice to prevail.
About deployments
During the NRM caucus meeting, a disagreement arose about the way the military and other security agencies indiscriminately caused terror to journalists and other voters. Sources say one wing within the party supported the deployment while another sharply disagreed.
Sources say there were NRM leaders who were called on election day to have the polling stations they managed covered by the army and the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT) but they declined.
“A minister was deployed to make sure that every polling station had security to avert any chaos but that was wrong. Some leaders refused and they were deemed wrong,” a source informed Monitoryesterday.
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and First Son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba
Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), has on several occasions used his X handle to justify the deployment of the army in the campaign. Before nominations of candidates in the Kawempe North, Gen Muhoozi said: “Police men who don’t beat up NUP fools will go home.”
Many NRM leaders have since condemned the high-handedness and violence exhibited during the campaigns, especially after the nomination of the National Unity Platform candidate Erias Nalukoola Luyimbazi.
“This was very stupid. How do you unleash terror on a humble Opposition candidate after nominations? What was the issue for Uganda Police to de-campaign us (NRM party) in Kawempe (North)?” Mr Tanga Odoi, the NRM electoral commission chairman, said during a televised talk show programme last week.
President Museveni’s statement last evening justified the deployment of the army and JATT to support police in calming chaotic situations as he did during the November 2020 riots where 54 people were killed on the streets of Kampala and other parts of the country following the arrest of NUP Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine.
“I have heard people talking about the harsh methods by some security elements, especially against the journalists. We are studying this. However, the original question should be: why should UPDF and JATT have to be deployed in crowd management? Uganda is like an island of peace in the region. Why? It is because of the UPDF,” President Museveni said.
He added: “They have enough work fighting the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), the Karamoja cattle-rustlers, Kony in Central African Republic (CAR), al-Shabaab in Somalia, etc. There, they shoot to kill. That is why nightclub goers can dance the whole night in peace. Why, then, do they get diverted to deal with crowds? It is because of the indiscipline of some opposition groups. Who organised the Kabaka riots of September 10th-12th 2009? Who organised the 2020 riots of November 18th to 20th where people were killed?”
But sources say several army commanders and individual operatives who were captured on different cameras and closed-circuit television (CCTV) beating journalists and citizens during the operations in Kawempe North have been earmarked and summoned by their superiors.
Journalists Raymond Tamale (left), Abubaker Lubowa (right) and Denis Kabugo (standing) were among several news gatherers attacked by security personnel while covering the Kawempe North by-election on March 13, 2025. PHOTO | NMG-U
Col Chris Magezi, the acting deputy of Defence Information and Public Affairs, said some of his colleagues who will be found culpable during the ongoing investigations will face the law and punishment.
“We have said that our investigations have started and are ongoing, any of our officers who will be found culpable will face different disciplinary action and we might also sign the law to deal with them. The commanders of the armed forces have been alerted and teams dispatched to do the job of following up on these allegations,” Col Magezi said.
