Museveni siblings on the spot over poll violence in Western Uganda
The Mawogola North election pitting two scions has left a chink in the armour of the ruling party inner sanctum. Both Shartsi Musherure Kutesa and Godfrey Aine Kaguta piggy-backed on family ties to seek a ticket to Parliament in the flashpoint Sembabule district.
Musherure was anointed the heir to her father’s seat, Sam Kutesa, the powerful Foreign Affairs Minister whose other daughter is married to the first son, Lt. Gen Kainerugaba Muhoozi while Aine Kaguta, a brother to the president, according to sources received a ringing endorsement from his siblings and a powerful General in the army.
In the end, it was a triumph of violence and the textbook dark arts to rig an election, claims the camp of Musherure.
On September 4th, the NRM internal primaries in Mawogola North were called off as pockets of violence flared in the constituency.
This prompted the president’s nephew, Sabiiti Muzeeyi, to rush to the district. But the creeping hand of the rigging cabal, which was bubbling below the radar, came to surface in the polls.
With both candidates having close ties to the president, there were fears that a spectre of violence could return to haunt the September 30th election.
Museveni: Carry your own cross
Earlier, on September 15, President Yoweri Museveni wrote to the Tanga- Odoi led Electoral Commission distancing himself from the election-related chaos involving his relatives who are being accused of using state agencies to influence the outcome of the ruling party primaries.
“I have never sent any of those relatives to contest in those areas or anywhere; nor did they even consult me,” he wrote.
Museveni even promised to table a proposal before the party’s second highest organ, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) which sat on Thursday at State House Entebbe to stop high ranking officials from backing their relatives.
“My name should not come up when my biological relatives are contesting. However, I will table in the party CEC the issue of high-ranking party officials backing their relatives to fight other NRM contenders,” he revealed.
Quoting the bible, the president said that his “relatives” in politics are only those who believe and support the ruling party ideology.
“On the issue of my relatives getting involved in politics. In Matthew 12: 46- 50. Jesus says his brothers are those who do the will of His Father in Heaven. For me, like Jesus, my relatives are all and any NRM member who does the right thing according to the party constitution,” he said.
The president’s letter was sparked by growing antipathy after his brothers were accused of orchestrating a reign of terror and bribery to influence the outcome of polls in the districts of Sembabule, Kiruhura and Isingiro. In Sembabule district, Aine Kaguta’s campaign was led by rowdy youths who are accused of relying on violence and transporting strangers from Kasanda district. Mr Aine is running a gold mining company, which has come under the spotlight over human rights abuses against civilians who eke a living in the bowels of the earth. Museveni’s other brother, Shedrack Nzaire, who is the NRM Chairperson for Kiruhura district camped in Sembabule to support his sibling. In one of the video clips, he is seen entering his car guarded by Special Forces Command officers after the supporters of Ms Musherure confronted him for interfering with the voting process at Dispensary Ward in Ssembabule town, a polling station.
One of the voters is seen telling him: “Kill me if you want. I know you have guns and power. But even those with guns want people to lead.”
This is how Mr Damasent Kyeyune, the NRM Chairperson of the Dispensary Ward described the violence and alleged rigging. “It’s a sad day for the people of Mawogola North, but more for our country.”
Mr Kyeyune, who was Musherure’s supporter was arrested on the voting day. He said some villages like Kyenshama, Kyemambo, Kikoma, Dispensary, Serinya, Kyizano and Kanyumba, Musherure’s supporters didn’t vote because they were intimidated.
In all the seven villages, she got zero votes and Aine got 1,190 votes. Aine won with 1243 votes. “For example in Kikoma one of the villages mentioned above, people lined up on time and were counted but the Sodo people created chaos and stopped the register from recording the results, which indicated that Shartsi had 342 , Sodo 27 and Kisekka 325 [ the third contestant]. The counting took place in the presence of the police personnel. For some strange reason Mr Tango Odoi showed up and cancelled the results and conducted a fresh election at 5pm,” he said.
Two weeks, before voting, President Museveni had visited Sembabule, in an attempt to calm down tempers. He again distanced himself from reports that he had sent his brother to contest against minister Kutesa’s daughter.
According to sources who attended the meeting, the president asked to see the campaign manager of Aine called Benon Burora. “When Burora stood up,
President Museveni recited the name of his favourite cow in the kinyankore dialect “ Itono rya Bugondo”, which means he was very excited to see Burora and was impressed by what he was doing. Burora contested against Fred Karakure for NRM Lugushuulu sub-county. Karakure, the incumbent LCIII Chairperson supported Ms Musherure.
Reviving Museveni V Kutesa
The attention given to Mawogola North elections to some commentators drew parallels with the contest between President Yoweri Museveni and Minister Kutesa in 1980 in North Ankole constituency which currently forms the districts of Kiruhura, Ibanda and Kazo.
President Museveni, who was contesting under Uganda Patriotic Movement [UPM] lost to Kutesa, who was a Democratic Party candidate.
After 1980 election, Museveni formed the Peoples Redemption army which later morphed into the National Resistance Army to fight the Obote government. Kutesa served his term in Parliament and later became the Attorney General under military junta Tito Okello regime after the 1985, which ousted Obote.
In 1985, during the Nairobi Peace Talks between Tito Okello and Museveni, Kutesa was part of the Okello Lutwa’s delegation.
Some of the supporters of Aine Kaguta claim, he had settled an old score but for Musherure’s camp, this was a Pyrrhic victory. But Aine Kaguta said he won because the incumbent had not done much in regard to service delivery.
“They started bribing voters a year ago. They also tried to give my agent Shs2m to surrender the declaration of results form, but he refused,” Mr Kaguta alleged. “People voted him overwhelmingly because of the good projects he has extended to them in less than a year,” revealed a supporter. Many Kutesa leaning candidates were ousted in the primaries. Beyond Sembabule, there is growing concern that Museveni’s brothers have become powerful brokers in western Uganda and have conscripted legions who are willing to get on the gravy train.
Sam Tumusiime, from Insingiro district told the East African Centre for Investigative Reporting that, “They used money and intimidation to make sure that all those they supported won the ruling party primaries. But this has left people divided.”
But there is a groundswell of resentment amongst supporters of those who allege that they were rigged in the just concluded polls. Bukanga constituency in Isingiro district was another hotly contested race between President Museveni’s cousin and the incumbent MP, Steven Kangwagye against Dr Moses Mpairwe.
The supporters of Dr Mpairwe are pointing accusing fingers at Museveni’s brother, Michael Nuwagira alias Toyota of using soldiers to beat up his supporters.
“They came with guns and were intimidating people. We shall not relent. Let Mpairwe leave the party and comeback as an independent,” Gordon Twongyeirwe, a supporter lamented.
According to results from the September 4 polls announced by Ronah Kukundakwe, the NRM registrar Isingiro District, Mr Kangwagye polled 4720,
Mr Mpeirwe polled 2395, Mr Kamoga got 17 votes and Mr Tumusiime polled 28 votes. Dr Mpeirwe however said, “The exercise was characterised by rigging, intimidation and harassment. Results were cooked and announced, I had to petition higher authorities.” When a security team sent by the President carried out investigations, it was discovered that Dr Mpeirwe polled 10,339 votes while Mr Kangwagye, the incumbent, got 8,203 votes in the 111 villages out of 137 villages in the constituency.
The President, in the same September 15 letter addressed to Dr Tanga Odoi said in 26 villages,
“People did not vote because of the confusion caused by cheaters.”
Dr Mpairwe told East African Center for Investigative Reporting on Thursday that while the President had included Mishenyi A Cell, Kirebarebe, Ishunga, and Burigi 1 among the 26 villages that had not voted, these were later removed and replaced with Ntura, Kamweema, Bwizi and Nyamarungi B, yet they had voted. In these villages, Mr Kangwagye is more popular than his rival. “I raised objection during consultative meetings with Dr Tanga and his team because I had a copy of the President’s report which had all villages that never voted. I also wrote to the President’s Office over altering of these villages but I was not helped,” Dr Mpairwe said.
He said, “It [repeat election that was planned on October 7 ] was going to be a sham; I could not participate because I had evidence in my hands. I wrote to the NRM chairman, Chairperson Electoral Commission and Secretary General. I haven’t decided on the next step because I have not yet heard from them.” These villages were supposed to vote on October 5 but Mpairwe boycotted and the election didn’t take place. In Nyabushozi county, Kiruhura district, where President Museveni has a countryside home, the just concluded primaries has polarised the district. The voters accuse Mr Nzaire, the district NRM chairperson and brother to the president of influencing and altering results in favour of his father- in-law, Col Fred Mwesigye, who is also the incumbent.
Col Mwesigye was declared winner but Dr Odoi later cancelled the results.
There were protests from supporters of Wilson Kajwengye after Col Mwesigye was announced the winner. In response, Mr Nzaire ominously warned that they were ready to “silence” all the supporters of Kajwengye if they dare to demonstrate. “We shall extinguish any fire that comes.”
In response, Mr Kajwengye, told him that “ It’s those you are threatening that the NRM’s support is based on.”
President Museveni later summoned a meeting at Kakyeeka in Mbarara.
During the meeting, Museveni accused his brother Nzaire of being partisan and campaigning for his father-in-law. “When some of your chairpersons are partisan, the voters won’t trust them. Like Chairman Nzaire. He has been campaigning for his father-in-law,” he told the meeting.
Mr Kajwengye issued a statement, saying the will of the people had been ‘vanquished.’
“The electoral system of Nyabushozi was under kidnap from the socio, economic & psychological spheres of influence,” he said.
He further wrote: “The entire result was fraudulent. It is no wonder that the race for NRM Flag bearer(MP) of Nyabushozi has more votes than that of the district woman MP, which happened in the entire district not just in Nyabushozi and at the same time.”
The three contestants for Kiruhura District Woman MP had in total polled over 40,000 votes, which is less than the ballots cast in the Nyabushozi county vote.
In response, Col Mwesigye said he had genuinely won and his rival should have the humility to accept defeat. “Our President and Chairman of the party in his wisdom talked about lining up as enough evidence, the truth will come out. At an appropriate time, I will share with you my victory performance in all sub-counties. It is therefore my request that we keep the spirit of nationalism, and rule of law.”
According to the results announced by the NRM district registrar, Mr David Andinda Agom, Col Fred Mwesigye scored 36,147, Kajwengye had 13,248 and Chris Bakashaba registered 5,601.
