Mawogola North: Kaguta’s victory hangs in balance

The victory of Godfrey Aine Kaguta, aka Sodo, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flagbearer for Mawogola North Constituency in Sembabule District, hangs in the balance after the matter was referred to the party’s highest organ ,the Central Executive Committee, to decide .
This comes after Ms Shartis Musherure Kutesa, the daughter of Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa challenged Kaguta’s victory before the party election tribunal, which concurred with her on a number of issues.
 Mr Kaguta, the younger brother of President Museveni, defeated  Kutesa in the hotly contested party primaries on September 30. 

Mr Kaguta garnered 17,343 votes(46.3 per cent) while Ms Kutesa got 16,104 votes(42.1 per cent). Mr Salim Kisekka came third with 4,272 votes (11.3 per  cent). However, Ms Kutesa claims the election was marred by vote rigging and some of her  supporters were systematically disfranchised .
Mawogola North constituency has 146 villages, five sub-counties and one town council .
Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the director communications at the NRM secretariat, said the party’s central executive committee (CEC) was yet to decide  on who will hold the party flag for Mawogola North constituency in the 2021 General Election.

“The matter of  [Mawogola North] was considered by the tribunal, but failed to have a conclusive decision and forwarded it to CEC . We expect [CEC] to convene before tomorrow [today] and make a final decision on the matter ,” he said by telephone yesterday 
Nominations for all MPs close today, according to the Electoral Commission (EC) roadmap.
Some sources told Daily Monitor that following negotiations between the parties, both Ms Kutesa and Mr Kaguta will stand as Independents to avoid escalating the growing tension within the party ranks ahead of the General Election. 

When declaring Mr Kaguta as winner last month, Mr Tango  Odoi, the NRM EC chairperson, said given the history of NRM primaries in Sembabule, this year’s exercise was the most peaceful one and polls were free and fair .
 NRM primaries in Sembabule have in the past been chaotic and in 2010, two people got injured and a police officer manhandled. 

In 2015, the angry NRM supporters torched the party district offices accusing the party district registrar, Mr George William Katokoozi,  of manipulating the electoral process.
Meanwhile, in Nyabushozi County, Kiruhura District, where the incumbent MP Fred Mwesigye boycotted fresh party polls yesterday, his rival, Mr Wilson Kajwengye, was declared NRM  party flag bearer  after gathering 22,148 votes ( 51.1 per cent). Col (rtd) Mwesigye came second with 14,121 votes (38.9 per cent) while Christopher Bakashaba scored zero.

The election took place in 84 of the 200 cells in the constituency where voting did not take place on September 4 after Mr Kajwengye contested the results.  In the September 4 election, Mr  Mwesigye polled 36,147 votes, Mr Kajwengye got 13,248 votes while Mr Christopher Bakashaba polled 5,601 votes. But Mr Kajwengye protested the results,  saying  the exercise was marred by mass rigging and  irregularities.

In Rukungiri
The office of the Electoral Commission in Rukungiri District has rejected the nomination papers of Wilber Rwabatongore Rwishe and Amanya Tumukunde, the  son of former minister for security and the presidential hopeful, Gen Henry Tumukunde.

Mr Rwabatongore was to run for Rubabo County parliamentary seat on an Independent ticket while Mr Tumukunde was to run for Rukungiri Municipality parliamentary seat as an Independent.   Rukungiri District returning officer Abas Namara said Rwabatongore failed to follow procedures as required by the Electoral Commission and names on his national identity card and academic documents are different from the ones in the electoral register.

Compiled by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Wilson Kutamba, Ronald Kabanza & Alfred Tumushabe