Rebecca Kadaga and Anita Among Race Marks a Significant Escalation of Internal Divisions Within the Ruling NRM Party.

BY NATHAN NGOBI

As is the practice of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party, the National Executive Council (NEC) always convenes at State House to build consensus behind the scenes before throwing the aspiring candidates to the vote of the delegates who this time round have convened at Kololo ceremonial grounds.

By close of business 0n 25th August 2025, both social and mainstream media were awash of all sorts of headlines highlighting what transpired during the heated meeting that saw the current Speaker Anita Among clash publicly with her predecessor and Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga.

The fight also pointed an accusing finger at the top leadership of the party to take a firm stand on who was eligible to participate in the race for NRM First National Vice Chairperson (Female).

Seeing the two washing their own dirty linen in public and the double standards exhibited by the NRM party, the Chairman of the party who also doubles as the President was forced to interject in an attempt to bring the meeting to order. Kadaga, the incumbent, delivered a fiery speech accusing the party leadership of ignoring loyalty, hard work and long-term service in favour of speaker Anita Among who she accused of being a newcomer just a few years ago.

“I have been a member of this party since inception. I started as an LC1 chairperson in 1999, then LC11 till where I am, I have never joined any other party, in other meetings I said that since I am the incumbent and the most senior in this party, how can you take the senior person to move out for a junior one?

How? What party are we building so your excellence if there is anyone to be a special nominee then it should be Anita Among, am the incumbent  and i think am entitled to remain in this position  it would send a very wrong signal, that is why you protected Hajji Kingongo  because of the seniority but now you are saying Rebecca Kadaga  you get out really, your excellence i think it is unacceptable am not going to take any other position until am voted out  but not leaving for anybody , remember Mr.  Edward Sekandi was speaker but was never in CEC, he never came here for CEC meeting neither late Wapakabulo James or late Francis Ayume so please separate this matter if there are here as Ex official let them be Ex official” Kadaga told president Museveni before a crowd of CEC members at Entebbe state house.

My loyalty is unquestionable,” Kadaga added before the delegates, drawing loud applause.

 “When you fill the expression of interest form, you are asked what you have done for NRM in the last ten years.

To kadaga, it goes without saying that to aspire for that position; the guidelines state that you must have served the party for at least for 10 years.

Kadaga went ahead and reminded NEC of her long-term service to the party spanning over 25 years and warned of deep divisions if the matter was mishandled just to accommodate Anita Among.

“I have supported all our campaigns, ensured budgets passed, marketed Uganda globally, and served this party faithfully, but I was publicly humiliated when I was removed as Speaker, and I took it in good stride and took a laid-back position, how much more can you push an individual?” Kadaga asked president Museveni before the CEC delegates.

Before completing her speech, she shrew in a tribal card pointing to Busoga where she

commands a lot of respect. “Mr. Chairman, I have told you before that if this goes to a contest, it will cause serious problems in my community. You may think you are fighting me, but you are fighting a bigger community.

That’s not right for the politics of Uganda.” This did not go well with the President who in his rejoinder warned Kadaga against using Busoga’s identity to defend her seat for the NRM First National Vice Chairperson.

“Rt. Hon Rebecca needs to correct the idea that anybody is hunting her because there is no body hunting you, this is what she said and also it is not correct for you to try using my people the Basoga, to try to give the impression that you, if you are not there the Basoga are not there this is not correct and I have heard that for some time but I keep quiet, am the one who revenged for William Nadyope by defeating Amin and UPC who put him in prison who else did anything for  Nadyope? Museveni told Kadaga. He also told   Kadaga that she does own Busoga. You were not there when I was working with the previous kings, so you should sit down, Museveni said firmly, sparking murmurs in the room.

 The President revealed that he had proposed a “win-win” compromise between the two contenders but since no one wants to be guided, we leave it to the delegates to decide.” “My way is always win-win; I don’t like win-lose. I proposed that the two of you agree so that one steps down, and I would use my mandate to nominate the other to the Central Executive Committee (CEC). But

since no one wants to be guided, we leave it to the delegates to decide.”

Kadaga also questioned why Speaker Anita Among, already an ex-officio CEC member, was contesting the same seat yet she was/is already a sitting in CEC as ex-officio, why is she running again? How can one person sit in two positions? This sends a wrong signal about fairness in our party,” She reasoned that removing senior leaders for newcomers would damage the NRM’s cohesion: “If we allow someone to come today and immediately become head of the party, what

message are we sending? Are loyalty and commitment no longer valued in NRM?” Kadaga busted.

In response, Among fiercely defended her right to contest for the position of NRM First National Vice Chairperson, challenging Kadaga’s claims of entitlement. “I expressed my interest, and I was nominated for CEC vice chairperson female. I stand here to affirm that I am still in the race,” Among said confidently as a handful of her supporters cheered. She denied being a member of CEC saying she was only attending as a visitor of the President.

Yes, I am new, but I come with new ideas. The mobilization I am doing for this party. I have

brought over ten members of parliament from the opposition into NRM.” We ought t to remember that Among was until a few years ago a member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). She used the opportunity to challenge Kadaga’s assertion that seniority should not define leadership within NRM, insisting that the party must embrace generational renewal.

Among was not shy to accuse Kadaga of hypocrisy, referencing the 2021 speakership race where Kadaga defied the party after late Jacob Oulanyah was endorsed by CEC over her.

 “When Jacob Oulanyah stood and CEC approved him for Speaker, those who had been in the party for long walked out and stood as independents,” Among said pointedly, directly alluding to Kadaga’s defiance.

Among framed her candidacy as an opportunity for the party to invest in loyalty, energy, and fresh leadership, positioning herself as a trusted ally of President Museveni. “I was trusted and given the position of Speaker, and I respect and value NRM. As Speaker, I love my President and I cannot bring a motion of displeasure against him.

This was certainly a well-clothed jab at Kadaga’s past disagreements with the President.

Accepting defeat, President Museveni left the two Eastern giants to take their vote hunt to the charged voters where money, childish, egos will most likely define the direction of the race.

Those who think the race will be a test of loyalty, influence and generational power are mistaken, it is money that will do the talking and guess what, the voters will do what they did best during the just concluded NRM primaries, the highest bidder will take the day.

Kadaga also raised constitutional and procedural questions about Among’s candidacy.

“Suppose I were a man holding the position of Speaker—would I also come to take the seat of First Vice Chairperson? Would we allow one person to sit in two high offices? It is unfair and unhealthy for the Movement to concentrate such power in one person,” she argued, questioning the precedent the party was setting.

Many Analysts that this writer talked to said the clash between the two titans and their chairman reveals the limits of personal influence in NRM, where the President’s decisions and preferences often outweigh seniority and loyalty.

It is clear that Kadaga’s apparent indispensability is a misperception within the party’s hierarchical structure. It is apparent that the debate over seniority, loyalty, and the role of newcomers underscores tensions between experience and generational renewal which some of these candidates have refused to see.

As we await the outcome of the election, we ought to remember that the contest between Kadaga and Among may redefine internal dynamics in the ruling party and set a precedent for how experience and new leadership are balanced within Uganda’s dominant political formation.

 We should not forget that it is the CEC that basically makes decisions for the country only to have them implemented by the various ministries.