Rebecca Kadaga Won the Race but Lost the Election to Anita Annet Among

OPINION

The contest for the position of NRM first National Vice Chairperson- Female between the current Speaker Anita Among and her predecessor in title Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga will take some time to fade from our minds. 

The race overshadowed all the other positions to the Central Executive Committee (CEC)  of the NRM, one would think it was the only race to compete for.

The outcome left many people wondering whether being part of the Central Executive Committee of the NRM was indeed a voluntary position as they claim and often occupied by those patriotic Ugandans with love for their party and country. The final laps of the race quickly turned into a war of words pitting the candidates against each other and against the party.

Kadaga, the incumbent, had on the onset delivered a fiery speech accusing the party leadership of ignoring loyalty and long-term service just to accommodate newcomers. The party top leadership and the over 25,000 invited delegates ignored her moving speech and bought into Anita Among’s narrative of being a new kid on the block with formidable ideas for the party.

At the end of the hotly contested election, 11,680 delegates voted for Anita Among while 902 delegates voted Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga in a process that was conducted by Tanga Odoi’s Electoral Commission through the primitive system of lining up behind candidates, their agents or their posters. At the end of the exercise, the winner- Among took it all but why do I think Rebecca Kadaga won the race but lost the election with just 902 votes.

First she is credited for having played her game without the need to hide delegates, without aggressive campaigning due to her health and above all without giving out bribes to sway the voters to her side. It was reported by the press and indeed Kadaga herself that her opponent provided her end accommodation to the delegates, gave out mobile phones, iPads and above all, 300,000/= to each delegate at the last minute.

I am tempted to think all the malpractices had an invisible hand of the top leadership of the party as the mandate to mobilize delegates to vote Anita Among was under the direct supervision of Party District chairpersons. Upon giving out the money, the District leadership followed the delegates to ensure they line behind Anita Among.

Faced with strict controls, some delegates, especially those who wanted to vote for Rebecca Kadaga opted to abscond for fear of reprimand. You can imagine the party invited 25,000 delegates but only a total of 12,582 participated in the exercise meaning about 12,418 delegates absconded, were blocked or did not turn up.

In other words, almost half of delegates did not take part in the Kadaga- Among elections yet they participated while electing other office bearers. We all know that politics is a game of strategy but the outcome of this contest seems to have had a bearing on people positioning themselves for future deals to head committees of parliament to be fronted as ministers.

For instance, I know of District chairman whose daughter is contesting as a woman Member of Parliament in his district. It is possible that he wanted to impress Anita Among in advance as she is expected to bounce back as speaker. His target was to impress the Speaker by returning 100% of the 121 delegates who turned up from his district in order to position the daughter for if she sailed through to become the next woman member of parliament.

We are told the NRM party alone spent over 20Bn on its delegates who turned up for their conference at Kololo ceremonial grounds. Each delegate initially received 700,000 for meals and accommodation. They were later given an additional 100,000 as compensation for the inconveniences during the Special Interest elections. It was a money bonanza as one of the contestants proved she had the financial muscle.

It is said that Kadaga did not spend as much and largely depended on her well-crafted manifesto that was partly construed by many as blackmailing her NRM that she claims to her served since the early 90s. Despite her utterances that could have rubbed the President the wrong way, she emerged victorious in the race although she eventually lost the election to her nemesis.

Given the levels of threats and intimidation by district party structures, I want to believe that the 12,418 delegates who absconded did so for their own safety and I believe had it been by secret ballot, they would have voted for Kadaga. Kudos to those who stood their ground to stand in the line that eventually gave rise to 902 votes.

For the naysayers who think the fall of Kadaga at the election is her downfall, think again. Kadaga went into that race knowing she would not bet her rival but as a bait to push the President into a corner .She used her manifesto to remind the President that she is the King maker in Busoga and leaving her out is an automatic fall of Busoga to the opposition which has dug its fangs into Busoga in the recent years.

Therefore, keeping her as one of the Members of CEC will surely maintain Busoga as a stronghold for Museveni and the NRM. This was a game of mathematics where Kadaga has excelled beating Museveni, Anita Among and the entire NRM party to remain at the High table. I believe Museveni will have no option but to exercise his mandate to appoint her as one of his nominees to the highest decision making organ.

She will therefore remain relevant in the politics of Uganda having cleared the ground for a return to the August house come 2026. My bone of contention is that given her ill health, Kadaga should have avoided her work load. During her 2021-2025 term of office as woman Member of Parliament for Kamuli, she hardly appeared in Parliament and as a matter of principle, she should have been voted out but the current Speaker has shielded her perhaps on the advice of the President hence denying her people representation.

As for the elections that did not take place or took place but were contested like that of the youth and the entrepreneurship, I see the President coming up with his usual win-win situation. He will not invite the voters to return for a fresh contest but will convince particular candidates to pull out in favors of the other. I see Mulenga and Collins Odoi taking the day either through consensus or through a decision of the tribunal but guided by the President.

Wadada Rogers is a commentator on political, legal and social issues. wadroger@yahoo.ca