President Museveni
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I President Yoweri Museveni openly clashed with First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga during a heated National Executive Council (NEC) session of the NRM, where tensions over the race for First National Vice Chairperson (Female) in the Central Executive Committee (SEC) came to the surface.
Kadaga, who is seeking to retain the position, delivered a passionate speech in which she accused the party leadership of favouring her challenger, Speaker Anita Among. She argued that her long record of service to the party was being sidelined.
“I have been a member of this party since inception. I started as an LC1 chairperson in 1999. I have never joined any other party. My loyalty is unquestionable,” Kadaga told delegates, questioning why Among’s relatively short three-year service was being elevated over her decades of work.
Kadaga further warned that forcing a contest risked alienating voters in Busoga, her stronghold. “Mr Chairman, I have been talking to you about this matter for some time. I have told you that if this position goes to a contest, it will cause serious problems in my community,” she said. “People here might think that you are fighting an individual, but you are fighting a bigger community. That is not right for the politics of Uganda.”
She went on to suggest that her removal as Speaker had already been a public humiliation, and that the party’s actions against her were continuing unfairly.
President Museveni firmly rejected Kadaga’s claims, particularly her warning about Busoga. “Rebecca, you are wrong to say that anyone is hunting you. And it is not correct for you to try to involve my people, the Basoga, giving the impression that, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have their support. This is not correct,” he said.
The President reminded the gathering of his own long-standing role in defending Busoga, recalling how FRONASA and the NRA avenged atrocities committed against its leaders by past regimes. He pointed to the killings of prominent Basoga figures like Ali Balunywa in 1972 and Shaban Kirunda Nkutu, who was executed under Idi Amin, as examples of sacrifices the movement has made in solidarity with the region.
Museveni stressed that loyalty and service to the party should not be turned into personal or regional bargaining chips.
The NEC resolved that both Kadaga and Speaker Anita Among will contest for the seat at the upcoming national delegates’ conference, setting the stage for a high-stakes election inside the ruling party.
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