Chaos at NRM EC as Lukanga, Nanfuma both claim victory in Kampala Woman MP primaries

Kampala, Uganda: Chaos erupted Friday at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Electoral Commission offices in Kampala as rival camps for the hotly contested Kampala District Woman MP primaries stormed the premises, each claiming victory.

The chaotic scenes unfolded a day after NRM’s Thursday primaries, with supporters of Amina Lukanga and Shamim Nanfuma converging outside the party offices, accusing the Commission of deliberate delays and manipulation of results.

Preliminary figures circulating widely on social media indicated Lukanga in the lead, though the Electoral Commission had not declared an official winner by close of business.

But Nanfuma dismissed the preliminary results as doctored and an attempt to steal her victory. “I won in four of the five divisions that make up Kampala,” she told reporters, alleging electoral malpractice. “How can I have zero in Kampala Central? This is a clear attempt to rig the results.”

Nanfuma insisted the Commission’s failure to release final results was a calculated ploy to deny her victory. “The EC has not officially declared a winner. It is all a game to steal my votes,” she charged.

Lukanga, widely tipped to secure the party flag, remained tight-lipped about the ongoing dispute.

The standoff prompted a heavy police presence as tensions escalated between rival supporters. Security personnel were deployed to calm the swelling crowds, who refused to disperse until a formal announcement was made.

Inside the Commission’s offices, officials declined to comment on when the final results would be announced, further fueling frustration among the candidates’ camps.

This confrontation in Kampala mirrors wider turbulence across Uganda’s NRM primaries, where multiple districts have reported delays, disputes over results, and allegations of vote tampering.