Electoral malpractices have reportedly marred the ongoing elections for Parish Development Model Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) in Luwero District as the government undertakes a nationwide reorganisation of the programme. In March this year, the PDM Secretariat directed district commercial officers to conduct fresh elections to replace existing SACCO boards whose terms of office had expired.
The Secretariat instructed commercial officers to convene Special General Meetings in every parish to elect Independent Vetting Committees tasked with applying a “fit and proper” test to all candidates seeking leadership positions in PDM SACCOs.
The officers were also directed to organise another Special General Meeting to elect new PDM SACCO Boards and Supervisory Committees. All elections are expected to be concluded by June 30, 2026. The reorganisation follows widespread complaints of extortion, non-compliance with beneficiary identification guidelines, and allegations that ineligible individuals who neither belonged to PDM SACCOs nor came from subsistence households were benefiting from the Parish Revolving Fund.
In Luwero District, the PDM SACCO elections commenced last week and are ongoing across the district’s 101 parishes. However, the elections have encountered challenges in several parishes, with reports of chaos, disputes, and petitions demanding fresh polls.
Richard Ssimbwa, the LCIII Chairperson of Luwero Sub-county, said elections for Kasaala Parish PDM SACCO collapsed after residents protested against the guidelines used by the Vetting Committee to screen candidates.
According to Ssimbwa, residents argued that the guidelines were being used to sideline new aspirants while favouring incumbent leaders. He added that allowing all residents, rather than only SACCO members, to participate in the elections contributed to confusion and heightened tensions. Similar concerns were raised in Luwero South East and Luwero South West parishes, where candidates and residents alleged irregularities during the electoral process.
James Mayiga, who contested for the position of Chairperson of Luwero South East PDM SACCO in Luwero Town and lost to Prossy Nanyonga, has petitioned the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), calling for a by-election.
Mayiga alleges that polling officials acted with bias and allowed individuals from other parishes to participate in the voting process, thereby denying legitimate residents the opportunity to elect their preferred leaders.
In Luwero South West Parish, Abdul Tamuzadde, the LC1 Chairperson of Kasoma Zone, claimed that the elections were conducted without an official voters’ register making it easy for non residents to participate.
Tamuzadde further alleged that some residents were intimidated by groups of voters brought in from outside the parish to support particular candidates, casting doubt on the credibility of the election outcome.
Other petitioners argue that some former committee members have manipulated the process to retain their positions and continue managing SACCO resources for personal gain. They are calling on the Commercial Office and RDC to nullify the disputed elections and organise fresh, transparent polls.
Mariam Nalubega Sseguya, the Luwero Resident District Commissioner, confirmed receiving petitions challenging the conduct of elections in several parishes.
Nalubega said her office, working together with the District Commercial Office, will review all complaints after the election exercise has been completed across the district. She assured residents that fresh elections would be conducted in parishes where investigations establish that the process was not free and fair.
The RDC also warned former committee members and parish chiefs against interfering with or hijacking the electoral process. The contest for leadership positions has been intensified by the substantial funds managed by PDM SACCOs. Under the programme, each parish receives Shs100 million a financial year, and government has so far disbursed about Shs557 million to each parish.
The sizeable resources have made SACCO leadership positions increasingly attractive, with leaders playing a key role in overseeing access to and management of the funds. In 2022, President Yoweri Museveni launched Parish Development Model programme a transformative strategy aimed to transit millions of subsistence households into money economy.
However, during the Parish Development model monitoring exercises in 2024 and 2025 by President Yoweri Museveni, several governance failures that threaten the intergrity and impact of the programme were reported. Unless the concerns are addressed and the electoral process is made more transparent, leadership wrangles could continue to hamper the smooth implementation of the Parish Development Model programme in Luwero District-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
