NRM losers seek audience with Museveni over debts

Paul Kiwuuwa

A group of 50 MPs who lost in the recently concluded NRM primaries want to meet President Museveni as the party chairman over heavy debts they incurred.

The petitioners told the secretary general, Justine Kasule Lumumba, recently at Parliament that the purpose of their request was to express their dissatisfaction over recently concluded party primaries, explaining that the postponement caused them to incur a lot of debts.

“The NRM Electoral Commission (EC) kept postponding voting in the primaries; the delay caused a big financial strain on aspirants, because we had borrowed money.”

 Petitioners of the National Resistance Movement party (NRM) primary elections  listening to  the Chairperson of the Electoral  Commission Tanga Odoi  at the Commission’s headquarters in Kampala 09/11/15. The have demanded to meet Museveni over indebtedness. Photo by Wilfred Sanya

Kapelebyong county MP Dr. Peter Eriaku, the chief mobilizer, said “We held a meeting with Lumumba seeking to meet President Museveni to iron out our grievances.  We want to be heard, and Museveni should find a solution for our fate.
 
We also formed a nine member committee chaired by Eriaku, with Lilly Adong the secretary to champion our cause. The committee is tasked to write a report of our grievances, which will be handed to president Museveni," said Eriaku.

Another MP,  Milton Muwuma (Kigulu South) said the recently held NRM primaries had physical alterations and inconsistencies of the names of the contestants, which led to majority NRM incumbents to lose.

"We want also Dr. Tanga Odoi, the chairperson of the electoral commission to expedite our petitions with diligence and care," Kiruhura Woman MP Rusania Balumba said.

Some of those who attended the meeting were: Sylvia Namabidde (Mityana woman); Lilly Adong (Nwoya); Dr. Twa-twa Mutwalante(Iki-Iki); Milton Muwuma (Kigulu South); Stephen Kagwera (Bwalya); Doroth Mpiima (Buikwe) and Victoria Rusoke (Kabalore).

Others are: Sarah Lanyero( Lamwo); James Kabajjo (Kiboga); James Mbahimba (Kasese); Tete Chelengati (Bukwo); Oliver Katwesigye (Buhweju); Margete Mahoka (Namayingo); Rusania Balumba (Kiruhura); Eddie Kwizera ( Bufumbira) and Naume Kabasharirwa (Ntungamo).

Lumumba, in an interview, said she will communicate to the president. However, she declined to comment on the resolutions of the meeting.

In an interview with Dr. Tanga Odoi, he said the elections were postponed because the party was not ready to hold the exercise.

“We warned such party members to desist from the habit of campaigning; we asked them to follow our guidelines. They should have listened to us and stopped the campaigns as we told them,” Odoi added.

However the Bunyore County East MP Emmanuel Dombo, who boycotted the meeting said, “I saw no reason to attend the meeting, because our petitions were handed to NRM EC. "