Tororo, Uganda: The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) tribunal has dismissed a petition by Hon. Fox Odoi and three other aspirants, confirming Richard Owere Machika’s landslide victory as the party flag bearer for Member of Parliament in West Budama North East.
Machika’s win at the primaries was emphatic, 19,956 votes, far ahead of Onyango Robert (10,934), Fox Odoi (5,472), Achom Mary (1,265), and Ruth Nabageresa (658). Despite the margin, the petitioners sought to overturn the result, only to suffer a second, more public defeat in the tribunal.
The case began with an eyebrow-raising claim in Paragraph 5 of the petition: that Fox Odoi was “the duly elected and declared flag bearer.” Legal analysts called it “not just false, but legally embarrassing.”
The petitioners’ rejoinder of 28th July 2025 was riddled with false statistics, including inflating Sere Sub-County’s voter roll from the actual 10,419 to 15,627, and copy-pasted affidavits so similar that one tribunal official likened them to “a bad group assignment.”
In a bizarre twist, both Achom Mary and Ruth Nabageresa claimed Machika “beat their husbands in Masanja Trading Centre”, despite referring to different men and locations.
Adding to the confusion, Nabageresa declared in Paragraph 56 of her affidavit: “I am the current sitting Member of Parliament for West Budama North East.” She has never held the seat.
Polling Station Contradictions
Petitioners insisted there were “no polling stations,” yet their own evidence showed declaration forms clearly labelled with station names.
One petitioner even allocated himself all 483 votes from Mwenge Central in Kirewa — giving every other candidate, including Machika, zero.
The case turned personal when petitioners described voters in Paya, Sere, Nawire, and Sop Sop as “goons,” prompting a sharp rebuke from Machika: “You can’t insult the same people whose votes you were begging for… These are decent, hardworking citizens. If you lose, lose with respect.”
Community member Owere Richard confronted Onyango Robert directly: “Don’t call our voters goons! What were you doing in Nawire, looking for goons or votes?”
The tribunal concluded Machika’s victory was unassailable: “Even if the votes of all six opposing candidates were combined, Machika would still lead.”
Machika Calls for Unity
“This win is for the people… The lies failed. Now let’s move forward together for the development of West Budama North East,” Machika said after the ruling.
For the petitioners, the verdict brought not just legal defeat but also reputational damage, and a cautionary tale about the cost of disrespecting voters.
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