Kadaga was backed by the Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa who wondered why people invest heavily for the NRM CEC elections, the positions which are unsalaried.
The 1st Deputy Prime Minister and the NRM National Vice Chairperson (Female) Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga is up to now expressing dissatisfaction over gross monetization of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections at Kololo, and she cites unidentified sites at Kisaasi and Nakawa in the outskirts of Kampala, where she claims, delegates were each bribed with Ipads, smart phones and sh300,000.
She expressed the fear that if not adequately handled, this tendency may become the way to go in future elections. Kadaga was backed by the Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa who wondered why people invest heavily for the NRM CEC elections, the positions which are unsalaried.
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Kadaga’s team was taken aback at the final count, to learn that their candidate was rejected even in her home region of Busoga. In Iganga, Kadaga got 39 against Speaker Anita Annet Among’s 67 votes, while in Namayingo, Kadaga managed to get 3 votes against Among’s 67.
The situation was far worse in Kaliro where she was elected by only 7 voters while Among convinced 75. In Bugiri, Kadaga got 19 and Among scooped a hefty 96.
Ugandans in the diaspora overwhelmingly voted for Among with 137 votes with no single vote registered by Kadaga. Complainants said a voter living abroad but who preferred anonymity admittedly received a USD 1,000 facilitation (equivalent to about sh3.5).
Commenting, Eastern Region Vice Chairperson, Capt. Mike Mukula who threw in the towel shortly before elections, said he has never witnessed an election where someone injects sh10bn, and advised the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the National NRM Chairperson to find an immediate solution to this matter before the party goes to the dogs.
Kadaga maintained her stand that it is wrong for the NRM to handle newcomers in the party with kid gloves and discarding old guards who she said have gone through the thick and thin, and have at their fingertips the nitty gritty of the party.
She also condemned acts of voter intimidation coupled with massive voter bribery witnessed at the Kololo NRM CEC elections.
As a hit back, Among admitted that she has not stayed in the party for long but that she has put in place self-telling initiatives like construction of the party offices at Bukedea using her personal resources.
She also claims to have sweet talked opposition members to turn over to the NRM, and pledged to continue with the struggle.
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Elsewhere, the slot for the Central Region Vice Presidency went to Haruna Kasolo after three strong contenders, Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi, Hakim Kyeswa and Mukasa Ssewava threw their weight behind him to trounce Moses Karangwa.
As an avenue to avoid anomalies registered, Lwengo district chairman, Ibrahim Kitatta suggested that in subsequent elections, the party national chairman should be given the mandate to name CEC members just like he names cabinet ministers.
In his address, President Museveni warned unnamed people planning to destabilize the country during elections to find something different to do, cautioning that he has the capacity to continue sustaining the peace and stability which he has done for the last forty years.