Uganda: Who is behind NRM woes?

The election of the LC5 chairman of Kayunga District in central Uganda made national news where it was not supposed to. For this is a very low key position, one did not expect anything more than a few lines in the pages of national newspapers.

However, this particular election became the dominant story for an entire week, carried by all national print, online and electronic media. The same importance attached to this election saw President Yoweri Museveni, the national chairman of the ruling NRM party, trek to Kayunga to campaign for his party’s candidate, a gesture that backfired, living a gaping political dent in Museveni’s political clout and that of his party.

First of all, it was the NRM that made this rather lowly position very popular because of their declarations in the media that they would make Kayunga the ‘launch-pad’ of their quest to ‘liberate’ the populous Central Region (Buganda) from the clutches of the opposition, after it was almost entirely swept by the National Unity Platform (NUP) led by the youthful Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, a musician.

Weeks to the day of the by-election, the entire NRM machinery and high-ranking national leaders including Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, pitched camp in Kanyunga, trying to convince residents to switch allegiance to the ruling party.

Videos went viral of the Prime Minister working overnight to bribe residents to vote for NRM, among other malpractices.

The elections were organized to replace the former LC5 chairperson whose lifeless body was mysteriously found hanging in a tree in his compound.

A story is told of how Museveni was hoodwinked by his minions that the party had restored its popularity in Kayunga, which prompted his trip, according to insiders.

As a measure to ensure Museveni gets a formidable crowd, the state machinery blockaded Kyagulanyi – who was meant to travel to Kayunga himself on that day – and made sure he did not leave his home.

But lo and behold! By the time Museveni’s heavy convoy snaked through Kayunga town, he was met by a ghost city so much so that he addressed an empty rally, made up of party officials who had travelled from Kampala and other areas.

This brings me to my question. Who is behind the current NRM woes?  Last year, many NRM ministers lost to NUP, especially in central Uganda.

A year later, Museveni decides to go to Kayunga to campaign for his LC5 candidate and to his big surprise, he finds no crowds on the streets to welcome him. Certainly not due to COVID-19 imposed safety measures as he would swiftly put it, to defend himself. 

The video footage that showed empty streets is a sound and clear fact that ⁷the Ugandans have rejected Museveni, especially in this region which used to be his stronghold.

It is not a new trend though. And here is why. This time, the money that NRM usually dishes out to people to show up on the streets has landed in individual pockets of party stalwarts.

As if the unusual welcoming of Museveni was not enough, the NRM forced the electoral commission to declare the NRM flagbearer as the winner. It was a tactless ploy that led to public outcry because of the shocking broad day light rigging by Museveni’s camp. 

As if this was not disgraceful enough for NRM, opposition candidates in Kayunga were beaten up by security forces. Their only crime was to have won the elections against NRM candidates despite Museveni’s own efforts to campaign for them at the LC5 level. Museveni must have hoped to turn the page of his terrible landslide loss in the district during the last presidential elections.

Due to leadership failure, the NRM is degenerating into something so bad and taking the who country the wrong way. Museveni is to blame for what the NRM has come to be. He knows it but favours a strategy of deviation from Uganda’s and NRM’s real issues, chiefly connected to his own family’s internal disputes and power struggles.

To stay in power, Museveni uses the power of the barrel of the gun.  But majority Ugandans have had enough of him and his family’s tricks. Museveni has made Uganda’s leadership one built on corruption and nepotism.

He should be reminded of one thing; Museveni and the NRM will go but Uganda shall remain.  It is just a matter of time.