Top Banyakigezi leader resigns over election fiasco

Ruth Ndyabahika, the president of the International Community of Banyakigezi (ICOB) has withdrawn her candidature for ICOB presidency over mess in the ICOB elections for new leaders scheduled for Saturday in London.

Her withdrawal from the race comes at a time when the deputy secretary general ICOB Edmond Safali resigned from his post.

Safali resigned last week after the ICOB board of directors and executive suspended him for issuing a press release which had been okayed by some ICOB members, showing Ndyabahika as one of the nominees for ICOB's top job.

In an earlier interview with New Vision, Ndyabihika indicated that her name had been omitted from the final list of nominees despite her earlier submission declaring interest in retaining her position.

It is upon this backdrop that Safali issued a press release showing Ndyabahika and Dr. Muniini K. Mulera as the only two successful contenders in the race against the earlier communication which had Muniini as the only contestant in the ICOB presidential race.

The press release rubbed some directors the wrong way, and resulted in the suspension of Safali.

Ndyabahika, who has been seeking re-election as the organization's president for the second term, withdrew from the race last week.

Denise K Aguma who had been nominated as member ICOB board of directors also withdrew from the race.

In her withdraw open letter to the ICOB board of directors and executive, Ndyabahika said the association was veering in an unprecedented ugly direction as a result of politics which is against the bylaws governing the organization.

"We are in the midst of a situation of intrigue that is far from our ideals and what ICOB stands for. Personally I have faced disrespect, underhanded unconstitutional activities and attempts to smear and discredit my name and the names of those who dare speak up for me," Ndyabahika noted in the correspondence seen by New Vision.

Dr. Muniini K Mulera has distanced himself from the controversy.

On his side, Safali attributed his resignation to the violation of the organizations' bylaws and ethics, including the policy for board of directors which bars dissemination of any document without an input and agreement by all the board and executive members.

"Strangely, I woke up very early on the morning of 4th July, only to read a press release issued by Lilliane Rumanyika (ICOB secretary general) who was expressly forbidden from involving herself in the election exercise as she herself was a candidate, omitting Ndyabahika's name on the list of candidates standing for presidency. How could this be," asked Safali.

It should also be noted that Rumanyika who was seeking to retain her position as the secretary general has since withdrawn from the race.

With the three candidates out of the race, Muniini remains the only candidate for the elections which sources say are likely to be postponed.

Some ICOB members that New Vision talked to attributed the disorganization in the organization to politics by some of the members seeking election.Brain Kwesiga, a member of ICOB also former president Ugandan North American Association (UNAA), blamed Muniini for the mess in the association.

"When Ndyabahika sent her name as a candidate for ICOB presidency, mysterious things begun happening within the ICOB board of directors, people who had not attended board meetings in over a year began showing up. It was not a coincidence, her decision to seek re-election had caught the Dr. Mulera camp within ICOB board of directors off guard and they were not going to stop at anything until blood was drawn," Kwesiga who is based in Dallas, USA noted.

"Many prominent ICOB members began receiving phone calls from Mulera where he was saying some uncharitable things about Ndyabahika, smearing her name .He has even gone to the extent of influencing certain members of the board to remove her from the ballot even after she had submitted her intention to run" he added.

When contacted recently, Dr. Muniini Mulera who is currently in London for the ICOB convention and elections denied the allegations.

"I cannot comment on the nomination process of another person. That is a board matter. I'm only a candidate for the president of ICOB" he said.

Muniini who is an FDC activist, also vowed to keep partisan politics out of ICOB for the good of the organization and development of Kigezi.