Efforts by NRM National Vice Chairman Al-Hajji Moses Kigongo to convince independent candidates in Mbarara District to step down for the party’s official flag bearers have hit a dead end, as several aspirants refused to withdraw or issued tough conditions for doing so.
Kigongo, who has been touring the district as part of the NRM’s reconciliation campaign ahead of the 2026 general elections, spent hours meeting independent candidates in an attempt to rally unity within the ruling party.
However, his appeals were met with resistance, with some candidates demanding ministerial positions or top government appointments in exchange for their withdrawal — a demand that reportedly angered the veteran party leader.
“So you should first step aside and we save the Movement,” Kigongo told the aspirants.
“We should all rally behind the NRM flag bearers because how will it feel that you who have supported the Movement for all this long are now the one bringing it down?”
Bazil Bataringaya, the incumbent MP and independent candidate for Kashari South, declared he would not step down.
“I promise that I will not step down, but I can assure you, Vice Chairman, that I will look for my vote and that of President Museveni,” he said.
Mbarara District LCV Chairperson Didas Tabaaro also refused to withdraw, insisting he would only do so if offered a cabinet position.
“Tell the President that I can only negotiate if I am appointed Minister for Economic Monitoring. Minus that, I will face off with Kururagire — after all, we are all NRM,” he said.
Other independents, including Mbarara Woman MP Ayebare Margaret Rwebyambu, skipped the meeting altogether, saying it was too late for reconciliation efforts.
“What are they coming to do now when we have already been nominated? They refused to settle our grievances after the NRM primaries. This is all postmortem — it’s useless. I am going to contest, and it’s the people of Mbarara who will decide,” she said.
Mbarara District NRM Chairperson Prosper Tuhaise Kururagire dismissed the independents’ defiance, predicting they would once again be defeated just as they were during the primaries.
“These are incumbents who lost in the NRM primaries. The youth and women have said they no longer want them. This makes our party stronger, and I like the direction we are taking,” he said.
The stalemate has left Kigongo visibly frustrated, questioning the loyalty of the independents to the ruling party as internal divisions threaten NRM’s cohesion ahead of the 2026 polls.