Tension as NRM Tribunal starts delivering rulings on election petitions

The Director for Legal Affairs in the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Enoch Barata, has announced that the party’s tribunal will begin delivering rulings on various election petitions starting today. The decisions will be communicated to the concerned parties via email.

Barata explained that all petitioners were granted a seven-day window within which to begin receiving their rulings. He further noted that the tribunal chairperson, Lawyer Enoch Musiime, is aware of which rulings are ready for release today and which ones are still pending.

This announcement comes amidst increasing pressure from senior NRM leaders—including cabinet ministers and incumbent MPs—who appeared before the tribunal on Monday, urging it to dismiss the petitions filed against them. They described the cases as baseless and a waste of time.

Among them was the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, who asked the tribunal to dismiss the petitions filed by his rivals, Akampurira Akampa Wa Karuma and Eng. Sam Kajjojjo. Dr. Baryomunsi, who secured the party flag for Kinkiizi East County, argued that his opponents were struggling to accept defeat.

However, Akampurira accused Dr. Baryomunsi of voter bribery, claiming he gave Shs100,000 to his polling agents and instructed them to leave the polling stations—an act he says compromised the credibility of the process. Elsewhere, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, through her legal representative, Jamil Mukama Sanyu Jamil, also dismissed a petition filed by Nangobi Nowet, branding it a time-wasting exercise.

Similarly, Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Without Portfolio, Hajjati Rukia Isanga Nakadama, called on the tribunal to reject a petition brought by Nangobi Susan Faiyima, dismissing it as baseless and advising her rival to exercise restraint. Meanwhile, Patricia Magala Nakafeero, who lost the Katikamu South primary race, questioned the credibility of the entire primary election process.

She suggested that if the NRM cannot manage internal primaries effectively, they should consider abolishing them altogether. Magala decried widespread electoral malpractice, including bribery, intimidation, and systematic rigging, which she said benefited her rival Abubaker Kalume.

She cited incidents in Bombo Town Council and Wobulenzi where declaration forms were allegedly forged, and voter numbers inflated. Magala further claimed that a tally center was illegally set up in the private residence of an NRM local chairman, in violation of party election regulations.

In Sembabule District, Woman MP Mary Begumisa also asked the tribunal to nullify the election of Florence Nambaziira as the NRM flag bearer. Begumisa told journalists that she had submitted sufficient evidence and remained hopeful for a favorable ruling.