More details have emerged about the circumstances that led to Ms Phiona Nyamutoro being declared unopposed for the Nebbi District Woman parliamentary seat.
Mr Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson, declared Ms Nyamutoro elected unopposed last Thursday after he cleared a petition that sought to nullify the nomination of her opponent, Ms Mercy Rebecca Abedican. Mr Godfrey Ongiera, one of the two petitioners who denied having endorsed the candidature of Ms Abedican under the National Unity Platform (NUP) party flag, is her uncle. Mr Ongiera, whose appeal gifted Ms Nyamutoro victory, confirmed his ties with Ms Abedican, whom he accused of using his credentials for her nomination without his knowledge.
He added that Ms Abedican knew he was a staunch supporter of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. But the NUP party officials in Nebbi District said Mr Ongiera willingly endorsed their candidate but changed his position after some ‘handsome’ promises were made to him. Mr Keriko Kizito Kerpou, the Nebbi District NUP party coordinator, in a interview with Daily Monitor, also accused the EC of availing the list of Ms Abedican’s seconders to her opponents, who they said called all of them with the aim of compromising them. Our efforts to get a comment from the EC proved futile last evening because the known number of the spokesperson, Mr Julius Mucunguzi, and his deputy, Paul Bukenya, were all unreachable by press time.
Ms Abedican said she was on the road en route to meeting the NUP officials and promised to address the issue later, but had not by press time. Trouble for Ms Abedican emerged when Ongiera and Bediic petitioned the EC on November 4, denying seconding her parliamentary candidature. In a November 13 ruling, the EC stated that Ms Abedican’s nomination did not satisfy legal requirements of being supported by at least 10 voters from the district. Part of the ruling said that during cross-examination, Mr Ongiera presented evidence showing he is a member of the NRM party and could not have supported Ms Abedican, a NUP candidate.
The ruling added: ‘The Commission interacted with candidate Mercy Rebecca Abedican at the hearing of the complaint, but she did not provide satisfactory evidence in rebuttal of the assertion by Godfrey Ongiera and Jimmy Bediic that they did not support her nomination. As a result, candidate Mercy Rebecca Abedican did not provide the minimum of 10 persons registered in Nebbi Electoral District as required under Section 28(1) (c) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, Cap 17.’ ‘Accordingly, the decision of the Returning Officer, Nebbi District, nominating candidate Mercy Rebecca Abedican is hereby reversed, and candidate Phiona Nyamutoro is to be declared elected unopposed as a Woman Member of Parliament for Nebbi District,’ the EC ruled.
But Mr Kerpou said attempts to remove Ms Abedican from the ballot started before her nomination when an opponent allegedly asked her to bury her parliamentary ambitions and instead accept some unspecified liberal offers. When this failed, efforts were reportedly channelled towards her parents, where a top district leader was sent to convince them to pressure her, but in turn asked the emissary to directly speak to Ms Abedican. ‘Even on the nomination day, we were frustrated and only cleared for nomination at about 7pm as the officials kept on disturbing us until we had to carry computers and printers to the nomination centre. They even asked us to come the following day, but we protested and refused, and that was why they nominated her,’ he said.
Ongiera responds
But Mr Ongiera in an interview last evening, denied ever meeting junior Energy minister Nyamutoro or even taking from her money. He said whatever he did was because he is a strong NRM member who has never associated with the NUP party.
‘Rebecca [Ms Abedican] started her politics in 2016, when she stood for the same position as an Independent and then under FDC party in 2021, and this time on a NUP ticket. Personally, I have never believed in her as my leader despite being my daughter. But what she did was a big mistake, using my credentials for her nomination without my consent,’ he said.
Mr Ongiera added: ‘I am a popular NRM party leader here and even contested for LC3 chairman in Abenyo Division, but I later heard her on the radio bragging that I supported her. I complained to the EC in Nebbi, who forwarded my issue to Kampala and was summoned and I explained everything.’ Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, the NUP party president, described the ejection of his party’s flagbearer as an act of impunity being done by a ‘weak and partisan EC’.
‘In many cases, they have been abducting people who signed for our candidates, intimidating them, and parading them before the EC to claim they never signed for those candidates. These cowards cannot stand fair competition,’ he said, adding that NUP would challenge the action.