The much touted ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) village structure polls have ended in chaos in many districts with members protesting outright denial to take part in the exercise .
The Tuesday polls took place at 72 ,000 NRM electoral areas across Uganda .
In Jinja District , Kakira Village ,Sande Kabule who was eying the party village flag fainted after discovering that no voter was lining up behind him .
At the border district of Busia, there were reports that some Kenyans took advantage and participated in the elections in several villages of Buteba Sub County and Eastern Division.
“ It is true some hundreds of Kenyan nationals crossed the border took part in our exercise here ,” Solomon Were ,a resident in Sofia A ,said
Cases of Kenyans voting were reported in the villages of Maranchi D, Sofia A, and Sofia B in Eastern Division, while in Buteba sub-county, infiltration happened Okame, Abochet, Amagoro, and Alupe.
In Buteba sub-county, voting was called off in four villages – Alupe, Amagoro, Abochet, and Okame – that border Kenya, after hundreds of Kenyans from Teso South crossed the border to take part in the exercise.
Mr Eric Masiga , the Busia District NRM chairman confirmed that voting in four villages was suspended after Kenyans insisted on participating in the party polls .
“We were strictly following the yellow book, so when some Kenyans crossed and insisted on voting, chaos broke out, leading to the cancellation of the voting process,” Mr Masiga said.
In Sembabule , chaotic scenes were witnessed in various constituencies of the district hence resulting in postponement of the voting exercise in over 8 villages.
In Bugologolo Village in Lwemiyaga Constituency, voters blocked the process after the election of the chairperson Mr Juma Kabagambire. A crowd led by Lwemiyaga Sub-county woman Councillor Ms Molly Rwabushaija stormed the scene with claims that some voters were not residents of that village and involvement of the army in the election.
In the rest of 132 villages the exercise was smooth and at Lwemiyaga LC 1 A the maverick area MP Mr Theodore Ssekikubo was elected NRM village secretary .
In Mawogola West elections at villages like Vvunza, Lusaana B, Bbulakati and Kenziga has been postponed and in Mawogola South at Kibengo, Mateete and Kibulala, the halting of the voting followed complaints falsifying the registers.
Voting in some areas in Ankole sub region was also marred by chaos after party members complained of irregularities in the NRM party register and influence peddling from powerful NRM bigwigs hailing from the area .
At Katete Central Cell in Nyamitanga ward in Mbarara City chaos erupted after one of the candidates accused the registrar of allowing nonmembers to vote .
Mr Mubarak Kintu who had stood on the position of the LCI chairperson flag bearer said he would contest in the general elections as an independent candidate.
In Ibanda Municipality chaos erupted at some stations when party members failed to see their names in the register. Such cases were recorded at Mpira polling station and Ibanda Junior School polling station .
Mr Rogers Mugisha, the NRM register for Mbarara District said despite the challenges encountered ,voting went on well in the area .
At village Kagunga in Rujumbura, Rukungiri District , Security Minister Maj Gen (Rtd) Jim Muhwezi sailed through unopposed as Veterans league flag bearer. Also , the 1st Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga was favoured by the voters who made her the publicity secretary for her village – Busobya in Mbulamuti Sub County today.
A visibly excited Kadaga said this triumph increases her chances of retaining her slot as second vice chairperson( female) on the party’s Central Executive Committee-a position which Speaker Anita Among is also eying .
The situation was not different in the eastern districts of Mbale and Tororo.
The NRM party Electoral Commission in Tororo canceled results of three polling stations in Tororo Municipality over election violence.
According to Ms Sovereign Hasahya, the Technical supervisor in charge of Tororo municipality in Bukedi I , the results were cancelled after voters became unruly .
The State minister of Karamoja, who was also the woman MP, Florence Nambozo survived by beaten up at her Bukomba cell polling station in Mutufu Town Council, Sironko District, after voters turned chaotic and destroyed all the voting materials.
At Mpaama Village, Ntungamo Municipality, Ntungamo District elections ended prematurely after chaos erupted .
According to Mr Alosious Katureebe, a resident of the village, many residents including non members had turned up to participate in the exercise , where five candidates, including the incumbent Mr Gerald Byarugaba, had been nominated.
All hell broke loose when party members began lining up behind their preferred candidates and they started fighting each other.
When the situation escalated, the presiding officer hastily stopped counting and vacated the polling station .
In the western border district of Kasese, the party Registrar for Ibanda–Kyanya Town Council Mr Morris Kitenge was arrested over 15 missing party registers .
The suspect, identified as Mr. Moris Kitenge, was arrested and is currently being held at Ibanda–Kyanya Police Station as investigations into the matter continue. He is expected to be arraigned in court once police complete their inquiries.
According to Rwenzori East Region Police Spokesperson ,Mr Nelson Tumushime, Mr Kitenge is being investigated over attempts to falsify party registers.
“It is alleged that the Registrar tampered with the register book, which led to the disappearance of the documents. That prompted our detectives to swing into action and arrest him,” he said
In Kamuli District , Vincent Kirabire ,68 the historical chairperson for Bugaboo Village sensing a wave of women empowerment push withdrew in favour of his daughter Shamim Nakibogo Ntaawu ,27 and was given the chairperson veterans special interest group.
“I have been the chairman here long enough. Our daughter has been consistent in fighting for girl child leadership and in the spirit of letting her inspire girls I stand down for her,” he declared.
Ms Nakibogo the Chief Executive Officer Mama Africa and chairperson Community of practice North Busoga said she was not rebelling against the father ,but building on equality, equity and rights to leadership and in respect appointed my predecessor a consultant advisor.
In villages were elections were postponed, registrars are expected to reorganise another exercise on Wednesday , May 7,2025.