ABANDONED AT SEA! NRM secretariat bosses accused of ignoring local cadres

Amos Tayebwa

Mbarara

There is dissatisfaction among the Districts NRM Chairmen with the NRM Party Secretariat on the way local party mobilizers and cadres are treated in terms of recognition and facilitation related matters while running party grass root mobilization activities.

As Uganda gears up for election season ahead of 2026 polls, a section of mobilizers and cadres falling in the ruling party of NRM have raised a concern of grievance over rejection by the party secretariat.

They feel that the NRM Party Secretariat has not considered their relevance in the mobilization activities.

A few days ago, during a meeting that was hosted by the Mbarara City NRM Chairman Wilson Tumwine at Pelican Hotel, a section of NRM Party mobilizers and cadres from Mbarara City clashed with the Deputy RCC Mbarara City North Division Jacqueline Kankunda over misunderstandings.

The backlash erupted during the meeting after the mobilizers mentioned that the party secretariat has rejected them and efforts they put in during the election in ensuring that NRM wins. They said that they are tired of working for free as local mobilizers yet few within the party are benefiting. Kankunda in response told them that NRM party is for the committed mobilizers who should not mind much about facilitation and salaries when doing the party mobilisation activities.

She further told them that NRM does not value indisciplined cadres and mobilizers.

Such statements provoked some members in the meeting who shunned the meeting and moved out accusing Kankunda of disrespecting them.

Speaking to this publication, Gerald Agaba, the Isingiro District NRM Chairman said that the truth is that the NRM party is only working at the center and yet efforts should be focused on the ground. He said that the NRM local mobilizers and cadres have been abandoned and rejected, something that may end up affecting the party in the next elections.

“The NRM Party should organize very well from the top to the bottom especially where we have the structures so that these are empowered to monitor the cadres and mobilizers. But if the cadres are really abandoned the way I am seeing the NRM is abandoning them when they are just in the field talking the way they want where everybody is claiming to be a cadre, they are not fully trained from Kyankwanzi, we shall keep losing elections like we have seen in Kisoro Woman MP seat if we don’t do something. To me what is very important now, the party should always follow up the cadres and the party structures. We have the full Secretariat NRM, but they are just seated in Kampala doing nothing, they are eating, they have good cars but they can’t even come to the districts to do conferences and do talk shows on the radio, move and see what these cadres are talking about. The party should do mobilization base on the ground, the rejected cadres should be put on the board because they are the ones suffering, they are the ones on radio, they are the ones in the community mobilizing,” said Agaba, the Isingiro District NRM boss.

“As NRM, we need to reorganise, we need to put party on the right track whereby we emphasize the empowering of structures, we have 30 people at the village level well seated there, they have not been oriented, they have never been trained, they don’t have time even to meet, they are only used during election. I don’t think we even need to form other structures, to do which work yet the other ones have worked for ten years and they have never been appreciated,” he added.

Agaba attributed the increase of opposition in this country to the demoralisation of NRM Cadres and mobilizers.

“These Cadres and Mobilizers are demoralised, the opposition is regaining but no one is even bothered. There are people who are taking things for granted that NRM is always supported, I want to tell you that mobilization is by numbers, you can’t sit down and you expect that NRM has support, those supporters should be consolidated, encouraged and inspired,” said Agaba.

“Our problem with NRM, is the tendency of the big people coming from Kampala to the ground with bags of money, with bureaucracy and they just sit in the hotels and eat after like mid-day when they move out to see what is happening, they are even arrogant because they are too satisfied. We need new and young people to take up this party. Sometimes we need to respect and sympathize with our Cadres, we need people who preach good messages to our mobilizers, otherwise we are short of the knowledge,NRM may lose if we don’t consolidate our achievements and supporters of NRM,” he added.

Hebert Kamugisha, the Mbarara District NRM boss cautioned the teams that come from Kampala and start underlooking the local teams of cadres and mobilizers which they find on the ground. He said that the NRM votes should be mobilised from the communities not from the hotels as it has been a case in the past events of elections. He adds that the NRM Secretariat should start recognising the local cadres and mobilizers as strong elements that matter on community mobilization .

He further condemned illegal registration of voters. He said that digital registration should be embraced and respected in a bid to have fair elections.

Jomo Mugabe aka Rutashorora, the former Mbarara City NRM Chairman and the Mbarara City South Mayor condemned the formation of multiple units within the NRM Party. He said that when many units / groups exist in the party it will cause diversion among the NRM supporters. He said that some of those groups come with intentions to solicit and extort money from the candidates. He mentioned that there should be one NRM where all the supporters should look into one goal to win all the elections at all levels.

Mugabe also condemned the conflicts between the candidates during the campaign time and election. That all NRM Candidates should search for elections without the rivalry of do or die.