KAYUNGA, UGANDA – Tension gripped Kayunga Town on [Date of Protest] as a group of disgruntled National Resistance Movement (NRM) delegates from the district staged a protest, vehemently rejecting the outcome of the recently concluded election for the party’s Central Region Vice Chairperson.
The demonstrators, chanting slogans and waving placards, expressed their fury at the party’s decision to declare the State Minister for Microfinance, Haruna Kasolo, the winner of the hotly contested race. They insist that their preferred candidate, Moses Karangwa, was the rightful victor and accused the party leadership of mishandling the electoral process.
The protest was led by Sulaiman Serumu, the NRM chairperson for Kangulumira Sub-county. He addressed the gathered delegates, condemning what he described as an unfair process that undermined the will of the grassroots.
“The party has failed to handle this election with transparency,” Serumu stated. “We, the delegates from Kayunga, who voted overwhelmingly for our candidate, Moses Karangwa, are here to say we cannot accept this result. The numbers do not add up, and we demand justice.”
The dispute stems from the official results announced by the party’s Electoral Commission, which showed Minister Kasolo narrowly defeating Karangwa. Kasolo was declared the winner with 4,194 votes, edging out Karangwa, who polled 3,981 votes—a margin of just 213 votes.
The delegates from Kayunga, a key district in the central region, argue that irregularities occurred during the vote counting and tallying process. They claim that Karangwa had secured enough support to win and that the declaration of Kasolo as the victor was a miscalculation or, worse, a deliberate manipulation.
The protesters issued a stern warning to the NRM leadership, threatening to escalate their actions if their grievances are not promptly and adequately addressed. They did not specify the nature of the further action but promised it would be “decisive.”
This public display of dissent highlights growing internal friction within the ruling party concerning its internal electoral processes. It also poses a challenge to the party’s cohesion in the central region, a critical political stronghold.
As of now, the NRM secretariat has not issued an official statement regarding the Kayunga protests or the specific allegations raised by the delegates.
