President Museveni has blasted ruling NRM leaders in Kayunga district whose squabbles he said were responsible for his dismal performance in the 2021 general election.
“Everybody is saying people in Kayunga are NRM supporters and yet in the last election, we got few votes. Even the president got 35%. Who are those who voted against the president? It means there is some confusion among yourselves and not being clear of what will help you,” Museveni questioned.
The president who is also the NRM national chairman was on Tuesday afternoon speaking to NRM leaders from Kayunga at Kayonza Church of Uganda Primary School.
He also campaigned for the NRM candidate in the Kayunga LC5 race, Andrew Muwonge.
Museveni said it was wrong for people to believe that individuals have more power than the power or the state, a situation he said has ensured the party support in Kayunga wanes.
“All this confusion is because people of something people have not understood properly. The work of politics is to look for people’s needs and deal with them and that is where NRM deferred with other groups. It is the reason we parted ways with UPC, DP and Kabaka Yekka in 1965 because they were looking at politics of identity.”
“The politics of identity is bad politics. Why do you divide people yet they have similar problems?”
The president blasted the Kayunga Woman MP Aida Nantaba and the NRM chairman for Kayunga Moses Kalangwa whom he said are wrong to believe they wield so much power that has seen people divided.
According to Museveni, not even him as president has any power if not derived from the population.
“I personally don’t have power. Even if I am the president and founder of the NRM, my strength is got from you. It is wrong if you are still believing in the strength of individuals,”he said.
“None of them can do anything without help. The dam(Isimba) you see here was not built by either Kalangwa or Nantaba. The roads you see here cant be built by one person. So why do you waste time focusing on individuals?”
Museveni said the achievements of the NRM are because the party is not believing in strength of one individual but a collective effort.
Kalangwa responds
However, responding to the president’s remarks, the Kayunga NRM chairperson, Moses Kalangwa defended himself on allegations of the squabbles he has with Nantaba.
As NRM in Kayunga we had fights but after sending a team form Kampala, we are now united and looking for vote of NRM. Those making claims of land grabbing by my own people are looking for cheap popularity,”Kalangwa said.
He said that to prove that the NRM leadership in Kayunga is united, the December 16 election will be won by the ruling party.
Kayunga fights
The most pronounced endless fight in Kayunga is one between Aidah Nantaba, the district woman MP and her political rival Moses Karangwa, the district NRM chairman.
The fights have prolonged for over 10 years and efforts by the top party leadership including President Museveni to resolve the squabbles have proved futile.
The fights also saw the ruling NRM badly lose in the 2021 general election in Kayunga.
President Museveni who in the past used to have a landslide win in Kayunga only got 35% of the total votes, against Robert Kyagulanyi, also Bobi Wine of the National Unity Platform who garnered 62.60% despite being a newcomer.
The ruling NRM party only got one MP, Amos Lugoloobi in Ntenjeru North.
The party also lost the district leadership to NUP’s Ffeffekka Sserubogo who unfortunately passed on in June.
However, recently, the NRM secretariat led by the Director for Mobilisation, Rosemary Sseninde spearheaded efforts to have Kayunga party leaders united .
The secretariat held several meetings with both leaders and other party supporters in a bid to listen to their grievances so as to try and solve them.
Speaking on Tuesday, the NRM Secretary General, Richard Todwong urged the party leaders to unite.
“As NRM we seem to hate each other so much that we don’t want to reconcile. Kayunga is 90% NRM but because of divisions we lose elections. Lets us this time speak the same language and reconcile with one another,”Todwong said.
” Nothing can defeat us if we reconcile and unite .It is the only medicine for us to win this election.”
