KAMPALA. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Election Disputes Tribunal has ordered the party Electoral Commission chairperson Tango Odio out of the party youth elections after overturning the victory of his son Collins Tanga as party Youth League chairperson .
In a lengthy ruling , the tribunal condemned Odoi’s role, declaring: “The conflict of interest in Dr Odoi presiding fatally compromised the election. His insistence on doing so was therefore a matter of choice, not compulsion. As father of one of the contestants, Dr Odoi was personally invested in the outcome and could not, in appearance or in fact, exercise the detachment and impartiality required by law.”
According to the tribunal the youth election was riddled with unlawful exclusions, procedural irregularities, and a fatal conflict of interest created by Collins ’s father, Tanga Odoi, who presided over the exercise.
The tribunal cited Ugandan jurisprudence on conflict of interest, noting that “justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done, and the best way to address conflict is to avoid it altogether.”
It held that Odoi’s actions — taking the podium, announcing alleged withdrawals, signing results forms, and ultimately declaring his son as winner — were not mere formalities.
“These are not ceremonial acts; they are the very acts by which an election is presided over,” the ruling emphasized.
The further observed that Mackline Natukwasa was announced to have withdrawn without presenting the mandatory written and witnessed letter required under Regulation 32, while another candidate, Wilson Otto, was completely excluded from the line-up.
“The omission of Natukwasa and Otto therefore disenfranchised their supporters and materially undermined the credibility of the poll,” the panel found.
The conduct of polling itself was described as deeply flawed.
Voting, scheduled for the afternoon of 25 August, only commenced 37 hours later at 4:00 a.m. on 27 August.
“This prolonged delay of the poll demonstrably led to fatigue, confusion and departure of voters, undermining transparency and credibility. Taken cumulatively, these irregularities clearly and substantially affected the result,” the ruling read.
Video clips
Petitioners also alleged that 400 votes were unlawfully added to inflate Collins Tanga’s tally.
While the tribunal declined to accept incomplete audio and video clips as conclusive evidence, it held that the broader irregularities had already compromised the entire process.
“Suspicion, partisan assertion, or unauthenticated audio-visual snippets fall short of that threshold,” the judges said, but added that “the specific allegations of conflict and improper proclamations were not answered by Odoi or his counsel – silence which further strengthens the Petitioners’ case.”
The tribunal took judicial notice of the chaos that marred the election.
“Near-riots were triggered at Kololo. A large number of youth delegates were visibly protesting the declaration of the First Respondent. The perception of bias was not only reasonable but also widely and publicly shared,” the ruling noted.
It also cited the demonstrations that followed the swearing-in of new CEC members on 28 August, where delegates once again openly challenged the outcome.
On the central question of whether these irregularities substantially affected the results, the tribunal ruled emphatically in the affirmative:
“Exclusion of candidates alone affected the contest; the conflict of interest compromised impartiality; and delayed participation fatally compromised transparency. These irregularities clearly and substantially affected the result.”
The tribunal recommended that the party Central Executive Committee immediately organizes fresh elections conducted in accordance with party rules .