No NRM Ccandidate for Mawogola North as Kaguta, Kutesa are nominated as Independents

Sembabule, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |   By the close of the official nomination on Friday, the National Resistance Movement-NRM had failed to sponsor a party flagbearer for Mawogola North Constituency parliamentary seat in Sembabule district.

This  follows the failure by the party authorities to break the stalemate on the official flagbearer pitting President Museveni’s younger brother Godfrey Aine Kaguta aka Sodo and Shartsi Nayebare Musherure Kuteesa; the daughter to Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kahamba Kuteesa.

The two relatives; Kaguta and Musherure have both been nominated as independent candidates following sharp disagreement on who genuinely won the flag in the party primaries conducted in the area.

Although the NRM electoral commission had declared Aine Kaguta as winner of the residual primaries conducted on September 30th, Musherure contested the results and accordingly she petitioned the party elections tribunal arguing that polls were marred by gross irregularities against her.

By Thursday evening, the tribunal chaired Enoch Barata had failed to take a final decision on the petition and instead forwarded the matter to the NRM’s Central Executive Committee-CEC for guidance which is also yet to be provided.

Both candidates have now been nominated as independents with Aine Kaguta choosing a bicycle for his campaign symbol while Musherure has settled for a ball as her symbol.

Upon his nomination on Friday evening, Aine Kaguta whose candidature was seconded by the Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo, said that he couldn’t get enough time to challenge the tribunal decision that withdrew his flag.

Kaguta has castigated the party tribunal for not being independent while making their decision, arguing that they could have been compromised before making their report which they allegedly hid until the nomination date for general elections.

He vowed to continue his journey by capitalizing on the support he claimed to have obtained from within the party , insisting that he is confident of winning the general elections despite the encumbrances.

But Shartsi Musherure also insists that she had been cheated of her victory in the party primaries, adding that she is delighted that the ticket was finally been withdrawn and she is allowed to continue with her political ambitions.

Meanwhile, Salim Kisseka who contested in the NRM primaries for Mawogola North has also been nominated to run as independent. He has criticised his two opponents for openly partaking in malpractices that marred the primaries.

The trio are now going to face seven more candidates vying for Mawogala North Constituency MP seat, in the bid to replace Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kahamab Kutesa who chose to retire from elective politics.

The other candidates are FDC’s Moses Lyazi, Henry Nyanzi on the NUP ticket and other independents Ismail Wagaba, Hillary Tukundane, Catherine Nakayiza, Sulait Twesigye, Muhammad Mawanda.

********

URN