Sembabule, Uganda: Brigadier General Emmanuel Rwashande has openly ridiculed longtime Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo following his victory in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries, declaring that Ssekikubo effectively served as his “campaign manager” by exposing his own failures to the electorate.
Gen Rwashande, who formerly served as Defence Liaison Officer at the EAC Secretariat, dismissed claims by Ssekikubo that the primaries were marred by rigging, stating that the vote-counting process was transparent and the results reflected the people’s will.
“The people of Lwemiyaga were simply tired,” Rwashande said, adding that after 20 years in office, Ssekikubo had little to show in terms of tangible development.
“Ssekikubo was my campaigning manager because he has nothing to show for himself. He only exposed his own weaknesses, and that’s exactly how I ended up getting all these votes,” Rwashande said while addressing supporters in Sembabule.
He further accused the outgoing MP of failing to mobilize even basic social infrastructure over two decades in office.
“Tell me, has there ever been a day when Ssekikubo called his friends or partners to come and build even a single school in Lwemiyaga? He hasn’t done anything for the people,” he said.
Ssekikubo, who has represented Lwemiyaga since 2001, rejected the outcome of the primaries, citing electoral malpractices. But Rwashande insists the people’s hunger for change was unstoppable.
“People were desperate. They had had enough. I didn’t need to convince them. All I had to do was remind them what they’ve been missing,” he added.
The bitter political fallout in Lwemiyaga marks the latest episode in the increasingly heated NRM primary season, which has seen several veteran MPs face fierce challenges from new entrants backed by military or youth constituencies within the ruling party.
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