For Hajj Umar Nangoli, alias “Local Breed,” the taste of victory was fleeting. Declared the NRM flag bearer for Mbale City’s Northern Division with 22,166 votes against Hussein Hudu’s 21,575, he entered the ruling party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) at State House with the confidence of a man destined for higher ground. A delegate’s seat at Kololo was within reach.
But politics has a ruthless sense of timing. On the final day of the NEC meeting, the NRM elections tribunal overturned his win, awarding the flag to his rival, Hudu. In an instant, Nangoli went from flag bearer to bystander — locked out of the delegates’ conference he had hoped to attend.
“I was attending NEC at State House when I received a phone call from my lawyer informing me that our victory had been overturned and the flag handed to Hudu,” Nangoli said.
“I attended NEC to the very end, and I was meant to go for accreditation for the delegates’ conference, which I opted not to, because the NRM election tribunal had removed the flag from me.”
He left State House not as a rising star, but as proof that in politics, one can be a king at breakfast and a commoner by dinner.
Tribunal’s decision
Nangoli had been declared winner of the July 17 NRM primaries against three contenders — incumbent MP Seth Wambede, Hussein Hudu, and Haji Isma Mukangadi.
However, Hudu petitioned the party’s election tribunal, accusing Nangoli of barring his supporters from voting and manipulating results.
The tribunal nullified results from six polling stations — Namabasa 5A cell, Namabasa 3A, Bumuluya, and Kibumbire — after finding ballots exceeded registered voters.
It also ruled that registrars in Bwana and Doko cells inflated results by 200 votes and 100 votes for Nangoli and Hudu respectively.
After a recount, the tribunal declared Hudu the winner by 332 votes. The ruling, signed by Diana Kasabiti, Ampaire Tumwebaze, and Hillary Kabiswa, was issued on August 22, 2025.
Nangoli fights back
Nangoli insists he won “fair and square” and has since filed a request for review. He argues the tribunal’s decision disproportionately wiped away his strongholds.
“For example, in Kibumbire, Hudu got 8 votes against my 380. In Namabasa 3A, Hudu got 5 votes while I got 411. When you deduct those two polling stations alone, Hudu loses only 23 votes and I lose 791,” he explained.
He has since submitted declaration forms and voter registers to support his case. His documents indicate that in Kibumbire, he polled 463 votes out of 465 registered voters, while in Namabasa 3A the tally was 595 against 597 registered voters.
“Once corrected, the flag will rightfully come back to me,” Nangoli maintained.
For now, however, his glory remains suspended — a reminder that within the NRM’s turbulent internal politics, fortunes can shift as swiftly as rulings are signed.