By KT Reporter
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party in Sembabule district has been thrown into turmoil after Wednesday’s re-run election for the district executive committee degenerated into chaotic scenes over the voters’ identification process and the deployment of armed military personnel.
The contest, which pitted Mawogola West MP and State Minister for Health Anifa Kawooya Bangirana against retired Major General Phinehas Manooni Katirima for the position of NRM district Chairperson, was marred by a dramatic walkout. Trouble began shortly after Returning Officer Deborah Arayo opened voting at the Sembabule district playground.
Bangirana mobilized her supporters to storm out of the venue, protesting what she described as unnecessary heavy deployment of armed soldiers, which she claimed posed a serious threat to her life and supporters in case of victory. She further accused her opponent of interfering with the voters’ register by smuggling in non-eligible voters disguised as delegates of the district veterans’ league.
The confrontation escalated into a bitter verbal exchange between Bangirana and the Returning Officer, who tried to block her from leaving. The situation inflamed her supporters, who abandoned the queue, confronted security personnel at the entrance, and forced their way out.
According to Bangirana, the Returning Officer defied an earlier directive from NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi, who had instructed that the elections be conducted without military interference.
Bangirana blamed the entrenched intra-party disputes in Sembabule on former Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kahamba Kuteesa, the outgoing district Chairperson, accusing him of trying to impose unpopular leaders on the district. She said to avoid clashes in the upcoming general election, her camp is considering forming a splinter NRM group with a parallel leadership structure.
Despite the chaos, Returning Officer Arayo went ahead with the polls, declaring retired Major General Katirima as the new NRM Chairperson for Sembabule district, deputised by President Museveni’s younger brother, Godfrey Aine Sodo.
Others elected included Mawogola North MP Shartis Musherure Kuteesa as Treasurer, retired Brigadier Emmanuel Rwashade as Chairperson Veterans League, and district Woman MP Mary Begumisa as Chairperson Women’s League.
Arayo defended the decision to proceed, saying the election could not be suspended over what she called trivial excuses.
In his acceptance speech, Katirima dismissed the breakaway faction as misguided by selfish interests that could not thrive in Sembabule. He accused Bangirana of childish political grandstanding and an exaggerated sense of self-importance, but pledged to persuade opponents to accept the outcome.
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