President Museveni said his party had to resort to guerilla tactics to defeat Alitwala Rebecca Kadaga from her third term attempt as Speaker of Parliament.
Museveni who had been silent during the election of the speakers of the 11th Parliament finally revealed the tactics used to defeat Kadaga and some of the opposition candidates vying for the two posts.
The President, also a member of the NRM’s Central Executive Committee of the NRM said he had to resort to campaigning to individual members of his party after Alitwala Kadaga had indicated that she was to contest as an independent.
The President acknowledged the fact that Kadaga and Oulanyah had resolved to vie for the same post had turned very divisive within the NRM circles.
Museveni says they had about 16 hours from the day of the elections to work on the division. He said faction formation is a subversive action, and he had to talk to two of the factions and by Monday morning many of them agreed to support the official candidates.
Museveni says one side of the NRM faction wanted to front a candidate to defeat NRM alongside the opposition.
Museveni was on Monday night making a statement in the first 11th Parliamentary sitting held at Kololo Independence grounds after the Speaker and deputy speaker were elected.
Now in his address to Parliament, Museveni said that the NRM was terribly divided with plans by the opposition and pro-Kadaga members to front a candidate against NRM’s Deputy Speaker choice Anita Among the Bukedea Woman MP.
According to the President, it took his effort to talk to key individuals who were resisting the party position starting from Thomas Tayebwa the Ruhinda North MP who lost in the caucus elections to Anita among and Gomba West MP Robinah Rwakoojo.
Sources had earlier indicated that the President and other NRM bigwigs had attempted to talks to Kadaga to abide by the party position but she was hesitant and therefore decided to contest as an Independent.
Museveni says he called the NRM MPs in the night between 11:00 pm and midnight to support Oulanyah as a sole candidate. According to Museveni this is how guerillas work.
The two went to the race as rivals following long time bickering stemming from the 2016 attempt by Oulanyah to oust Kadaga as Speaker of Parliament. However the situation degenerated after the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) decided to hand Oulanyah the flag and not Kadaga.
Kadaga stood without party backing and lost to Oulanyah who polled 310 over her 197 votes.
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New Speaker of Parliament
Meanwhile the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah hailed former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga for her leadership in Uganda and abroad. He says Kadaga excelled in representing Uganda, and as the new leadership they will pick from where she left and continue with it.
Oulanyah made the statements in the absence of Kadaga who had earlier on requested to make a statement but had left earlier.
