KAMPALA— The camp of Dr. Robert Mwesigwa Rukaari, the Member of Parliament for Mbarara City North and Chairman of the NRM Enterprenuers League has refuted allegations of an “attempted shooting” during internal National Resistance Movement (NRM) elections.
Team Rukaari in an interview on Thursday, May 29, asserted that the claims are false and part of a targeted smear campaign, emphasizing that the incident occurred in Kampala, not Mbarara, as widely reported.
They contend that widely circulated video footage and accompanying claims misrepresent the events, which they attribute to calculated provocation by supporters of rival politician Alhajj Hassan Basajjabalaba.
The confrontation took place on Tuesday at Dr. Tanga Odoi’s NRM office on Kyadondo Road in Kampala. Rukaari’s team stated the incident unfolded after Rukaari’s camp had secured victories in NRM elections for Rubaga and Kawempe Divisions.
“Dr. Rukaari was merely alert and acting in self-defense against a hostile crowd,” said a close aide who requested anonymity due to ongoing tensions. “These individuals were Basajjabalaba’s people, largely comprised of goons from Bushenyi, sent to disrupt and provoke. Their intent was to create chaos, not to genuinely participate in the electoral process.”
The accusations come as Basajjabalaba, recently elected NRM chairperson for Bushenyi District, has announced his intention to challenge Rukaari for the entrepreneurs’ representative seat on the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC).
Rukaari, a significant figure in Ugandan politics and business.
Within the NRM, Rukaari is a Central Executive Committee member and has been the national chairman of the Entrepreneurship League since November 2015.
He holds degrees from Makerere and Nkumba universities, including a master’s in public administration and another in security and strategic studies.
His international involvement includes a 2019 appointment as a chamber leader on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) World Chambers Federation (WCF) General Council. He also chaired the Board of Africa Strategic Leadership Centre.
