MBALE CITY WOMAM MP RACE: Incumbent Speaks Out on Opting Out of NRM Primaries

By Aaron Okotel

MBALE CITY

Incumbent Mbale City Woman Member of Parliament, Connie Nakayenze, has revealed the reason she didn’t contest in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries, opting instead to seek re-election as an independent candidate.

Nakayenze made the revelations on Sunday, 13^th July, 2025 while meeting Mbale City journalists at Deliverance Church Hall, Mbale City.

She dismissed “false allegations” that she was not returning for another term, clarifying her decision stems from a deep distrust in the NRM electoral system within Mbale City, citing alleged rigging in the previous election.

In a tearful confession, Nakayenze, alias “Mama Mbale City,” recounted a harrowing experience during the last primaries.

“It’s because of that mess that I cannot return in the same race with the same person who robbed me after I had won 90% of the votes,” she stated, accusing her own Party of allowing her to be “battered and beaten up by policemen” simply for demanding her results.

Nakayenze previously lost the NRM ticket to Lydia Wanyoto Mutende, alias “Big Sister,” in the 2021 party primaries. However, she famously re-entered the race as an independent candidate and ultimately won the Mbale City Woman Member of Parliament seat.

The outspoken MP also revealed the personal struggles that have kept her out of the public eye recently. She confessed to battling depression stemming from unending court battles challenging her victory, coupled with the profound loss of both her father and husband within the same period.

“The court case was very expensive, where you go to a lawyer who is expensive asking for over 100 million,” Nakayenze shared, referring to the financial strain. “But we thank God we won it, it all took almost two years. Again, I lost my dad who was very instrumental in my political career, and in the process, my late husband was also sick where we were in and out of hospital until he went to be with the Lord. It was because of such circumstances that I haven’t got time to appear in public,” she revealed.