NRM youth league elections turn chaotic, process cancelled

27 August 2025, 10:48 am

Byamukama Alozious

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) internal elections for the National Youth League, held on August 26, descended into chaos and spilled past midnight into the early hours of August 27, after allegations of vote rigging triggered violent confrontations among delegates.

The ruling party is currently conducting elections across its different leagues, but the youth vote proved to be the most contentious. Tensions flared when some contestants accused election officials of manipulating results in favor of particular candidates.

At the center of the dispute was Kiconco Brenda, a long-serving youth leader who also serves as the Private Secretary to the President on Youth Affairs and Secretary for Female Affairs on the National Youth Council. She was contesting for the position of Chairperson of the NRM National Youth League.

Her main challenger, Collins Tanga, son of the NRM Electoral Commission chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi, was controversially declared winner with 1,167 votes against Kiconco’s 1,355 votes. Dr. Odoi himself went on to announce his son as the winner, a move that immediately provoked outrage among delegates, who accused the commission of conflict of interest and vote manipulation.

The violent scenes that followed forced the party leadership to halt and eventually cancel the entire election process in the middle of the night. NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong announced the cancellation after reportedly consulting party chairman, President  Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, through a live phone call.