Bushenyi-Ishaka, Uganda: Counsel Nicholas Ndyakira Muhereza, popularly known as Ekinawolovu, has rejected the declared results of the Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality NRM MP primaries, describing the whole exercise as a “sham marred by outright bribery and vote rigging” masterminded by Hajji Hassan Basajjabalaba, the Bushenyi NRM district chairperson, to favour his son and eventual winner Iddi Basajjabalaba.
Counsel Ndyakira, a prominent lawyer and political figure in Bushenyi Municipality, had entered the NRM primaries as a frontrunner, widely tipped to clinch the party flag, thanks to his deep grassroots support and clean track record of public service.
However, the outcome announced last week in favour of his opponent Iddi Basajjabalaba has sparked outrage among his supporters after Iddi Basajjabalaba was declared winner under controversial circumstances.
Speaking to DailyExpress on Monday, July 21, Ndyakira dismissed the results as fraudulent saying; “This was not an election, it was a cash bonanza where voters were openly bribed at polling stations with full knowledge and protection of the district party leadership.
“The will of the people was suffocated by money and power. I cannot legitimize such a sham,” he added.
Ndyakira further accused Hajji Basajjabalaba, a well-known political heavyweight in Bushenyi and a close ally of the NRM establishment, of orchestrating a carefully coordinated vote-buying scheme to install his son at all costs. “The election was all commercialized, and reduced to a transaction. This betrayal of NRM values must not stand,” he said.
Counsel’s rejection adds to the growing number of aggrieved NRM candidates across the country, with the party’s tribunal already registering over 20 formal petitions citing vote rigging, violence, and bribery. The Bushenyi-Ishaka case now becomes one of the most high-profile disputes as tensions simmer within the ruling party.
Meanwhile, NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi has defended the broader conduct of the primaries, giving the party’s electoral machinery an 80 percent performance rating despite acknowledging scattered cases of malpractice.
“We have done better than before. We conducted elections in nearly all areas within the expected timeframe,” Dr. Odoi said, but cited districts like Kakumiro, Isingiro, and Karenga where vote tallying was either suspended or delayed due to tensions and logistical issues.
Dr Odoi confirmed these disputes are being handled directly at the party’s Kampala headquarters.
Pressed for his view of the poll dispute in Bushenyi, Dr. Odoi declined to comment directly on the allegations, but insiders say the established party tribunal tasked with handling the election petitions is likely to summon both the Basajjabalabas and Ndyakira for a hearing.
His protest now joins a string of disputed races, including that of Minister Persis Namuganza in Namutumba, which Dr. Odoi says has also been escalated for review after allegations of irregularities.
As the NRM grapples with the fallout from its chaotic primaries, Dr. Odoi warned that independent candidates must present credible reasons for defying the party’s official results if they hope to avoid disciplinary action. “Electoral malpractice remains a challenge, but the party will continue to find ways to mitigate its effects,” the NRM EC boss stated.
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