Iganga, Uganda: The Woman Member of Parliament for Iganga District, Hon. Sauda Kauma Alibaawo, has declared her decision to contest as an independent candidate in the 2026 general elections, citing widespread electoral irregularities during the recently concluded National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries.
Hon Alibaawo told journalists at a press conference held on Saturday July 19, at Fort Lugard Hotel in Iganga Town that the elections held on Thursday were marred by chaos, violence, intimidation, and gross manipulation of results. She said the process in Iganga district was anything but free and fair and accused election officials of ignoring party registers and ferrying in non-members to participate in the voting exercise.
She explained that the NRM as a party had invested resources in preparing and verifying registers to ensure that only legitimate members voted, but these registers were abandoned during the primaries. Alibaawo alleged that individuals were mobilized from outside polling areas to vote where they were not registered, which she said rendered the exercise a sham.
“NRM as a party took time to organize registers and for people to verify them, but these were not considered. It means that the money that NRM put into those processes was wasted. People were poured at polling stations from various areas to vote where they don’t belong,” Alibaawo said.
She raised concern for women and vulnerable groups who she said were intimidated and scared away from polling stations. According to her, those who tried to vote were subjected to violence. Alibaawo cited polling stations such as Nkaatu Main and Iganga Municipal Primary School grounds where elections never took place, yet results from these centers were later presented at the tally center.
She wondered how she could be recorded as having scored zero votes in her own polling station of Kasokoso Central 1 where she physically cast her vote. “How can you say I got zero votes from Kasokoso Central 1 where I vote from, yet my opponent got over 700 votes? Did I not even vote for myself?” Alibaawo questioned.
Despite her frustrations, Alibaawo thanked the people of Iganga for their continued trust and urged them to prepare for the 2026 general elections, which she said would be more organized and less prone to infiltration and manipulation. She clarified that she would not petition the NRM but would instead return to the people of Iganga to let them decide.
Meanwhile, Kigulu South MP Milton Muwuma has also declared his intention to contest as an independent candidate in 2026, citing similar irregularities in the primaries. Muwuma said he had consulted widely and resolved to contest independently, adopting the ball as his campaign symbol.
Muwuma emphasized that he remains a staunch member of the NRM but cannot in good conscience endorse what he termed as a fraudulent process. He dismissed claims by some individuals purporting to be the legitimate NRM flag bearers, branding them as masqueraders.
“Things didn’t go on well and we cannot pretend that they did. I have decided to declare myself independent because the entire process was fraudulent, with people simply writing results to serve certain interests. Most polling stations had no voting and were marred by intimidation and violence, resulting in fraudulent outcomes,” Muwuma said.
He noted that he would not waste time filing petitions but had instead shifted focus to fresh mobilizations as an independent candidate. He reaffirmed his support for President Yoweri Museveni as the party’s presidential flag bearer and pledged to continue mobilizing for him despite his break from the party’s parliamentary primaries.
The Kigulu South primary results were further complicated when the district registrar, Mr. Kirunda Yazid, halted the final declaration of a winner after disputes arose from certain villages in Nakala Sub-county. Although reruns were recommended in the affected areas, no such elections have been conducted.
According to the preliminary results, Muwuma garnered 5,248 votes against Patrick Kayemba’s 7,095 votes. Other contenders included Sebukaire Abdul Rahman alias Kangha with 6,608 votes, Kyafu Yusuf Ntulume with 6,657 votes, and Waiswa Ian with 3,057 votes.
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