“How come she never stood as an independent after losing the bid for Rwampara, but opted to come back to Mukono and when she lost here, she now wants to stand as an independent?” he questioned.
Mukono National Resistance Movement (NRM) Chairperson, Haji Haruna Ssemakula has passed a stern warning to candidates that participated in party primaries and did not manage to get the flag, asking them never to think of standing on an independent ticket in Mukono.
Ssemakula has encouraged them to take heart, and desist from temptations of defecting to stand in any other capacities, but simply believe that this was not loss per say, but simply a choice of a better player.
He passed the warning while addressing the former Mukono district Woman Member of Parliament for two consecutive terms, Peace Kusasira Mubiru Kanyensigye who on Saturday called for a press conference and declared her candidature as an independent candidate, after losing the party card to Margaret Nakavubu Bakubi.
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Stephen Nakabaale, the Mukono district NRM registrar, declared Nakavubu as the duly elected NRM flag bearer for Mukono district after reaping a total of 22,364 followed by Kusasira with 16,668, Esther Nagawa 497 and Doreen Nakanwagi 160.
Kusasira however blames election officials for deliberately omitting results of a full Goma Division, which is her home division and where she has a lot of support.
“I collected more than 10,000 votes from Goma yet Nakavubu had not even collected 5000 votes. Therefore, if those votes were to be considered, I emerged the winner and had a surplus of over 2000 votes,” she said.
When asked whether the decision to stand as an independent candidate would not tarnish her long relationship with the NRM party, Kusasira without any hesitation said she is ready to leave the party.
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Haji Semakula told Kusasira to cool down and wait for results from her petition to the NRM tribunal which President Museveni put in place to attend to the candidates who did not accept the election results due to a number of reasons, instead of trading the rumours that she will stand as an independent candidate if she loses the petition as well.
Semakula said, “Kusasira has petitioned like many other losers countrywide and if this is done within the boundaries of the law, I have no problem with it, but coming out as an independent candidate in next year’s elections is absolute indiscipline and is unacceptable; if she stands as an independent, we shall not spare her our wrath but will make sure Nakavuvbu trounces her again”.
He referred to Kusasira as being selfish and unappreciative, reasoning that she previously stood twice and won on NRM ticket as a woman MP for Mukono district and she convincingly throw in the towel, deciding to go to Rwampara district, where she calls her mother district, where she lost the bid only to again come back to Mukono.
“How come she never stood as an independent after losing the bid for Rwampara, but opted to come back to Mukono and when she lost here, she now wants to stand as an independent?” he questioned.
Haji Semakula said all along, Kusasira has been battling with Nakavubu for over four rounds, but Nakavubu never even for once stood as an independent candidate which means, she deduced, that she is an insatiable leader. By going independent he noted, losers are exhibiting themselves as enemies of the NRM.
Elsewhere, the chairman noted, elections proceeded as scheduled except for the Goma registrar who wanted to engage in rigging activities and his accomplice candidate Andrew Ssenyonga stormed police to attempt to release him outside the law, something which again resulted into chaos.
“The registrar is an employee of the NRM not for Ssenyonga as an individual; why did he (Ssenyonga) feel obliged to get him released at all costs? But the truth can never be concealed”, he said, thanking President Museveni for ruling that any culprit in the rigging of NRM party primary elections exercise will be held individually responsible.