Big Story: Over 200 NRM MPs Who Lost In Party Primaries Form Bloc, Vow To Contest As Independents

By Our Reporter

More than 210 Members of Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) who lost in the party’s recent primaries have announced plans to contest as independent candidates, defying calls by the party secretariat to abandon their bids.

The legislators, who addressed a press briefing on September 19, 2025, accused the NRM of conducting sham primaries riddled with vote rigging, intimidation, and corruption. While affirming loyalty to President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling party, they insisted they had been unfairly “rigged out” and vowed to give voters a second chance to elect their “rightful leaders.”

Barnabas Tinkasimiire, MP for Buyaga West, said the primaries betrayed the values for which President Museveni fought during the Luweero bush war.

“President Museveni went to Luweero, and 800,000 people died because he was fighting vote rigging. Unfortunately, vote rigging has followed him into his political party,” Tinkasimiire said. “He knows what happened in our constituencies—that’s why he formed the Election Tribunal. We will campaign for him because he isn’t the one who rigged us out; the people know who did.”

He added that the upcoming general elections would provide a “fairer platform” compared to primaries he described as a sham:

“One person votes ten times; they count the child on the back, the womb, everything but the actual voter.”

MPs Unite Against NRM Secretariat

Anthony Esenu (Kapelebyong County), who chairs the group, said the recent primaries were the most violent and corrupt in the party’s history.

“We received declaration forms days before the elections, and results were almost predetermined. This platform isn’t the President’s idea—it is our own coordination as NRM members who were unfairly treated. We remain in NRM but will contest as independents,” he said.

Peace Achan (Nwoya Woman MP) rejected suggestions that the independents were being used by President Museveni.

“We are members of the party. If there is any ‘using,’ it is mutual—we also rely on him as our principal. Our task is to ensure he gets overwhelming support.”

Richard Wanda (Bungokho Central) went further, challenging the NRM secretariat’s authority to block independents.

“If the party had organised credible primaries, it would have the moral right to stop members from running as independents. But since it failed, the Constitution gives us the right to contest,” he argued.

The MPs also dismissed remarks by NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong that the independents were seeking attention and money.

“Some of us have been loyal cadres all our lives. We aren’t blackmailing government—we simply want to correct a process Ugandans know was fraudulent,” Achan stressed.

Despite their grievances, several MPs emphasized they would still campaign for President Museveni in the general election. Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo described the group as defenders of the party’s credibility.

“We are here to save the party, galvanise the population, and ensure the President wins. This group should be praised, not condemned,” he said.

The defiance of more than 210 NRM MPs threatens to further strain the ruling party as it prepares for the 2026 general elections. While the independents insist they are strengthening rather than weakening the party, their move exposes deep cracks within the NRM over internal democracy and the credibility of its primary elections.