The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Sembabule, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement-NRM party in Sembabule district is locked in disagreements ahead of the party primary polls slated for Friday, September 4. Parrty members will be choosing candidates for Parliamentary constituencies and the district leadership.
In preparation for the exercise, the party is in the final stages of displaying its voter registers, an exercise which started on August 28. However, the process is marred with irregularities, according to intending candidates and some party members in Sembabule district.
Joseph Ssekabiito, one of the aspiring candidates for the Mawogola West Parliamentary seat, indicates that the ground is not levelled for competition between all contestants. He accuses some of the intending candidates of conniving with the party village registrars to manipulate the membership registers for purposes of rigging out their opponents.
In a harmonization meeting convened by Hajj Moses Kigongo, the NRM national Vice Chairperson at Sembabule district headquarters on Monday evening, Ssekabiito argued that apparent inconsistencies may compel many NRM members to protest outcomes of the internal party primaries and instead contest as independent candidates in the forthcoming general elections.
He adds that on top of manipulating the party registers, some candidates are also using state security agents to intimidate supporters of their opponents.
Joweria Mukabaliisa, the district female councillor for Lugusuulu Sub County says that they have obtained intelligence information about a ploy to ‘cook-up’ results of the party primaries in favour of specific candidates.
Salim Kisekka, one of the aspirants in the Mawogola North parliamentary race accuses his competitors Godfrey Aine Kaguta and Shartis Musherure of using their security detail to unleash violence against other candidates and their supporters.
Kissekka challenged Hajj Kigongo to reign over the duo for purposes of restoring sanity in the party’s internal democratic processes.
However, both Godfrey Aine and Shartis Musherure have denied involvement in the said irregularities arguing that they are equally affected by inconsistencies despite the presumption that they are well placed because of their social status. Musherure has partly blamed the underlying challenges to structural gaps within the NRM party.
Hajj Moses Kigongo noted that the party to leadership is going to take a keen interest in the elections of Sembabule to avert eventualities that may mess up the process. He added that the district is going to be considered for a special security deployment on the polling day to ensure that the situation remains favourable to all categories of people.
Sembabule district has a history of violence in the NRM primaries and worst-case scenarios led to the loss of lives.
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