Grassroots NRM voters in Namisambya Parish, Kitayunjwa Sub-county, Kamuli District, defied an agreement brokered by NRM Electoral Commission chairperson Tanga Odoi, overturning a power-sharing deal reached with four rival camps in the Bugabula South constituency.
The contested parish elections were marred by confusion and delays, having failed three times due to infighting among supporters of incumbent MP Maurice Kibalya, former MP Asuman Kiyingi, former district chairperson Thomas Kategere, and newcomer Mathew Bazanya—all of whom hail from Kitayunjwa.
The impasse prompted Odoi to intervene in a tense mediation session held in the RDC’s boardroom.
The meeting ended with a power-sharing agreement: Bazanya and Kiyingi would take the chairperson and publicity slots for Namisambya I Parish, while Kibalya and Kategere would hold the chairman and secretary positions in Naminage Parish.
At the sub-county level, the four camps agreed that Speaker Rebecca Kadaga would nominate a woman chairperson, with Kiyingi as vice-chair, Kategere as secretary, Kibalya as publicity officer, and Bazanya in charge of finance.
The deal was meant to bring calm following accusations that Bazanya had allegedly hidden the electoral college under the guise of a benchmarking tour.
But when the electoral college reconvened at Namisambya Primary School to fill the contested positions, delegates openly rejected Odoi’s mediation. They insisted that while they acknowledged his role, they would not accept being denied their right to vote.
“We appreciate the mediation efforts by our party organs but take it with a pinch of salt and ask that we follow election principles, allow the voters to decide—of course following the guidance—and exercise our party democratic rights,” declared Aga Mutyabule, who challenged Bazanya for chairperson, prompting cheers from the assembly.
In the ensuing vote, Bazanya defeated Mutyabule with 235 votes to 36.
Former minister Asuman Kiyingi, who did not attend the election, also faced voter backlash.
Delegates rejected his bid for the publicity slot, awarding a protest victory to his rival Stephen Balikoowa, who polled 225 votes against Kiyingi’s 38.
“Asuman was our choice for publicity and we were going to endorse him through the normal procedure, but he undermined us—preferring to think Tanga Odoi decides for us,” said delegate Godfrey Kayiira.
“So we gave him a protest vote to discipline him because he should respect the party structures.”
The defiance signalled a pushback against top-down decision-making in the ruling party, with grassroots voters asserting their right to choose their leaders.
The outcome may complicate efforts by the NRM Electoral Commission to resolve internal tensions through elite negotiations rather than open contests.