A government inspection tour intended to assess service delivery in Masaka District has unearthed divisions within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the Greater Masaka Sub-region.
The Minister of Local Government, Mr Balaam Barugahara, accompanied by his deputy and Masaka City Woman MP, Ms Justine Nameere, early this month spent a week monitoring service delivery in Masaka City, districts of Masaka, Rakai and Sembabule.
The tour was designed to assess government programmes, engage local leaders and receive feedback from residents.
Instead, political attention shifted to a heated baraza (public community meeting) in Masaka City, where long-running differences between Ms Nameere and the Masaka City NRM chairperson, Mr Rogers Buregeya, erupted in full view of hundreds of residents.
The meeting took an unexpected turn when a Masaka-based businesswoman, Ms Cissy Nanyange, accused Ms Nameere of failing to pay more than Shs150 million allegedly owed for coffee seedlings supplied during the minister’s election campaign late last year.
Mr Siraje Nsanja, a political scientist, says these conflicts stem from unresolved conflicts from NRM party primaries and cliques that emerged after the January general elections.
‘To consolidate the achievements, they [NRM] registered in Masaka, they have to resolve disagreements that accrued from party primaries, otherwise, they could end up losing the trust they had gained. I believe that even some members are not happy with the new converts from Opposition National Unity Platform party, who are in a very short time assigned key roles in party structures even before their loyalty is tested for some good time,’ he adds.
Mr Nsanja says Masaka, unlike other sub-regions, currently lacks senior NRM members to serve as mediators between the conflicting parties.
‘The top leaders are still young people, who have risen from positions of mobilisers. So, they lack that capacity of settling these disputes themselves,’ he says.
Some NRM supporters interviewed for this article expressed confidence in Mr Buregeya’s leadership, describing him as more accessible and closely connected to grassroots structures. Others defended Nameere, arguing that political rivals were using the public forum to damage her reputation.
Ms Nanyange said during the baraza that she had unsuccessfully sought payment for months and had resorted to raising the matter during the public community meeting.
The allegations immediately overshadowed discussions on service delivery and turned the baraza into a politically charged confrontation.
Ms Nameere denied responsibility for the debt, arguing that procurement and distribution of the seedlings had been handled through other individuals, including Mr Buregeya.
She maintained that she had been unfairly targeted by political opponents in Masaka City seeking to tarnish her reputation following her appointment as minister and said no documentary evidence directly linked her to the disputed transaction.
As supporters of both leaders (Nameere and Buregeya) traded accusations, Mr Barugahara intervened, calling for calm and reminded participants that the tour was intended to evaluate government services rather than settle political disputes.
To prevent the disagreement from escalating, Mr Barugahara reportedly engaged the Office of the State House Comptroller to verify the complaint and facilitate a resolution.
Within less than 24 hours, the disputed payment was reportedly processed, ending the financial dispute, although not the political fallout.
Meanwhile, Mr Buregeya rejects Ms Nameere’s claim that she had no dealings with Ms Nanyange, insisting the businesswoman had supplied coffee seedlings after previously working with Ms Nameere during the NRM primaries without receiving payment.
But Ms Nanyange confirmed she received the Shs10million for coffee seedlings she had earlier supplied to Ms Nameere .
However, Ms Nameere has not answered phone calls from this publication since last week to respond to allegations levelled against her, neither has she replied text messages to her known telephone number.
The confrontation has fuelled debate over the state of the NRM in Masaka, where the party is attempting to regain political ground after years of Opposition dominance.
Although the NRM improved its performance during the January general elections and recently won 47.3 percent of local council positions in Masaka City, according to Mr Buregeya, disagreements among senior leaders are threatening to overshadow all these gains.
He argues that the party’s recent grassroots successes were achieved largely through the efforts of local mobilisers rather than minister Nameere’s leadership.
The political tensions continued during the ministers’ visit to Rakai District, where residents accused former Defence minister Vincent Ssempijja, Ms Nameere’s father, of attempting to evict more than 600 households from a disputed piece of land.
Mr Barugahara reportedly intervened by contacting Ssempijja and urging him to halt the planned evictions while the matter was being addressed. Residents said the intervention helped calm the situation.
Despite the controversies, Mr Barugahara sought to project unity at the conclusion of the tour.
‘We have capable leaders in this region who can resolve such misunderstandings. Where disagreements arise, we shall continue to encourage dialogue because our focus should remain on serving the people,’ he said.
His remarks highlighted the challenge facing the NRM as it seeks to improve service delivery while managing increasingly visible internal rivalries.
Political observers say the internal NRM party disputes in Masaka reflect a broader struggle for influence within the ruling party rather than simply a personal disagreement.
Masaka has for long been an Opposition stronghold, but the NRM made some inroads during the January general election, winning majority of the district chairperson and parliamentary seats in the sub-region.
For example, the NRM won constituencies including, Bukoto Mid-West, Bukomansimbi South, Bukomansimbi District Woman MP, Kalangala Woman MP, Mawogola County South, Lwemiyaga County, Mawogola North, Kabula County, Lyantonde District Woman MP, Kyotera County, Kakuto County and Kalungu District Woman MP, Bujjumba County and Kyamuswa County.
Whether the reconciliation efforts initiated during the visit will hold remains uncertain, but the events in Masaka demonstrated that maintaining unity within the NRM may be just as important as competing against the Opposition in the years ahead.