KAMPALA – National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary General Richard Todwong has cautioned senior party leaders against secretly financing independent candidates to challenge officially endorsed flag bearers, warning that the practice is eroding party unity and could weaken the ruling party’s performance in the forthcoming Village Women Council and Local Council I (LC I) elections.
Speaking at the close of the Acholi sub-regional entry meeting in Gulu City, Todwong said the party had received intelligence reports indicating that some influential leaders were backing independent candidates instead of supporting those selected through the NRM’s internal electoral processes.
“We have intelligence concerning this political disease where established leaders sabotage the party by backing independents against our chosen candidates,” Todwong said.
His remarks came as the NRM intensified its nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign, with senior Secretariat officials deployed to sub-regional meetings across Acholi, West Nile, Lango, Bugisu, Karamoja, Bukedi, Greater Masaka, Greater Mubende, Greater Luwero, Greater Mukono, Ankole, Rwenzori, Kigezi and Bunyoro to prepare the party for the Village Women Council elections scheduled for July 23 and the LC I chairperson elections on July 28.
Todwong said the party had largely concluded the process of identifying its LC I flag bearers and was now focusing on mobilising support to ensure their victory. He described village leaders as the foundation of the NRM’s organisational structure, noting that they serve as the first point of contact between communities and the party leadership.
He also highlighted reforms within the NRM Secretariat, revealing that the party had cleared debts inherited from previous election cycles and had earmarked Shs11 billion raised through expression of interest fees for the construction of permanent district offices. He added that regional offices and a new national headquarters would also be established to strengthen the party’s administrative capacity.
The call for unity and discipline was echoed by senior party leaders across the country.
In Greater Masaka, Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja urged members to end internal divisions, arguing that the NRM has previously lost elective positions because candidates defeated in party primaries later contested as independents, splitting the party vote.
“The opposition is not the NRM’s greatest threat. Our biggest problem is ourselves because we undermine and fight each other,” Namayanja said.
Addressing leaders in Bukedi, NRM National Treasurer Ambassador Barbara Nekesa Oundo called for intensified grassroots mobilisation, describing village structures as the backbone of the party.
She urged leaders to use the scheduled village barazas to rally support for official NRM candidates, stressing that Local Council elections are critical to effective service delivery and the implementation of government programmes.
In Bugisu, NRM Director of Communication Emmanuel Lumala Dombo said the nationwide engagements were intended to harmonise party structures ahead of the grassroots elections while delivering President Yoweri Museveni’s message on unity, mobilisation and service to the people.
According to Dombo, President Museveni thanked party supporters for their continued confidence in the NRM and urged leaders to remain committed to wealth creation, poverty eradication, peace and national unity. He also called for greater support for government initiatives such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga, while encouraging eligible voters to participate in the Village Women Council elections on July 23 and the LC I chairperson elections on July 28.
Similar appeals for cohesion and discipline were made by party leaders in West Nile, Kampala Metropolitan, Karamoja, Kigezi and Bunyoro, where officials urged members to reject internal divisions and unite behind the party’s officially endorsed candidates.
In Bunyoro, President Museveni, through NRM Director for Legal Affairs Counsel Enoch Barata, emphasised that effective village leadership is essential for fighting poverty, improving service delivery, promoting wealth creation initiatives and combating corruption at the grassroots.
With only days remaining before the elections, the NRM has stepped up its nationwide mobilisation drive, maintaining that success in the village polls will depend on party unity, disciplined leadership and unwavering support for its official flag bearers.
English 