New faces in NRM's CEC represent eminent generational shift

2021 Elections Watch

Thu 27 Aug, 2020

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cec elections NRM CEC

The winds of change are blowing across Uganda's political divide with the old guard beginning to be phased out for a new generation of political elites. And this has not spared even the rather conservative National Resistance Movement. The NRM hasn’t been very appreciative of change especially in the upper most echelons of its ruling elite since its early days but the passage of time is gradually changing this.

After tension and anxiety in the just concluded Central Executive Committee elections that took place on Thursday 20^th August 2020, a number of new faces made it to the coveted Central Executive Committee of the ruling NRM party.

https://nilepost.co.ug/2020/08/21/kadaga-mukula-re-elected-in-hotly-contested-nrm-cec-elections/

The CEC which is the party’s highest decision making organ has since its inception been dominated by historicals from NRM's military wing which was the National Resistance Army (NRA) during the bush war(1981-1986). Other CEC members emerged from the rebel outfit's external wing in its formative years, a few early non combatant entrants after 1986 and co-opted old foes into the movement system who became key strategic allies with time.

A New Era Begins

The two top positions within the party that is the Chairman and first Vice Chairman were ring fenced from any realcompetition. However, the rest of the positions with in the party’s top organ were left open to competition. And for the first time the clout and real strength of the country’s most powerful lady by virtue of position Right Hon. Rebecca Kadaga with in NRM was put to test.

Luckily she came out on top with an emphatic victory over her well 'oiled' opponent silencing all those scheming for her ouster. But some of her contemporaries within the party’s old guard weren’t as lucky as her this time round.

Key among them is the wealthy and powerful immediate former NRM Vice Chairman for Northern Uganda Sam Engola who was trounced by Rt. Hon Jacob Oulanyah a former UPC cadre and politician who has risen up the ranks quite fast since crossing over to the NRM.

Holding both the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament and being the Vice Chairman elect for NRM in Northern Uganda makes Jacob Oulanyah arguably the most powerful politician on the other side of the Karuma bridge with only the much older Gen. Moses Ali 1^st Deputy Premier coming close.

Having polled 7473 votes against Sam Engola's 1665, the youthful looking Jacob Oulanyah's victory was one of the most emphatic and a clear sign of the shift taking shape.

The case was not any different in Western Uganda where an NRA historical, Uganda’s Ambassador to Burundi and immediate former Vice Chairman of NRM in Western Uganda Major General Matayo Kyaligonza was trounced by Dr. Chris Baryomunsi. Hon. Baryomunsi can be referred to as a second generation NRM politician having emerged onto the scene hardly 15 years back in the 2000s. Having survived the onslaught of Odrek Rwabogo back in 2015 who was forced by the Party Chairman to stand down for Gen. Kyaligonza back then, this time round the General didn’t have any special ammunition to silence the competition and was taken out on the political battle field by the youthful Kinkizi politician.

In Central NRM historical Hajji Abdul Naduli chose not to contest again leaving the race open for more youthful faces to battle it out. Tourism State Minister Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda who made news for unique projects like Miss Curvy and the Rolex campaign trounced controversial NRM Chairman for Kayunga district Kaliisa Kalangwa by about 1000 votes having polled 4749 votes to Kalangwa's 3701 adding another new youthful face to CEC.

In Eastern Uganda the status quo remained unchanged with Mike Mukula taking the day in what was a very tight contest against the popular Sanjay Tanna a Ugandan of Asian descent. Mukula who maintains a certain youthful exuberance about him despite his advanced age had to dig deep to age out a much younger Tanna who run a well oiled campaign that kept Mukula on tenterhooks till the final round of results was announced.

https://nilepost.co.ug/2020/08/24/dear-mukula-teso-hopes-you-use-your-cec-position-to-uplift-the-region/

Kampala region which has been former Kampala Central Division Mayor Nyakana's play ground for a while was not so different. This one was supposed to be a tight contest between Godfrey Nyakana and Salim Uhuru but Singh Katongole who served briefly as MP Rubaga North and was the party’s deputy treasurer at one point beat them to the coveted prize. His case was that of an underlooked under dog snatching the prize from underneath the two big guns who were going hard at each other.

Although Katongole is not exactly a youth he too represents the second generation of NRM having not been part of the initial lot that sprung out of NRM politics in Kampala in the late 80s and early 90s. That group includes the likes of Captain Francis Babu and his wife Hon. Margaret Zziwa.

Enter Karamoja and the youthful Legislator Hon. Simon Peter Alepper bounced back as regional Vice Chairman elect summing a largely youthful election it was.

Analysts predict that come the 2026 election season most of the old guard left with in the party will pave way for the party’s second generation a trend already taking shape that will be fully entrenched by then.

The author is a senior analyst with data, polling and consulting Firm Brothers Intelligence LLC