In a dramatic twist just weeks before Uganda’s 2026 general election nominations, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has replaced its Ruhama County flag bearer, nullifying Beatrice Rwakimari’s victory and declaring Henry Nkwasibwe Zinkuratire as the rightful candidate.
The decision, handed down by the NRM’s Election Disputes Tribunal, follows intense legal battles and exposes deep irregularities in the party’s internal primaries held on July 17, 2025.
Zinkuratire and fellow aspirant Richard Barungi petitioned the tribunal, accusing the NRM Electoral Commission, under the leadership of Dr. Tanga Odoi, of a flawed tallying process, manipulated results, and a disregard for procedural fairness.
The tribunal’s ruling supports their claims, concluding that the party’s final declaration was based on distorted and unlawfully altered vote tallies.
At the core of the dispute was a controversial re-tallying exercise conducted at the NRM headquarters in Kampala, which petitioners say was done without their consent or participation.
Zinkuratire originally trailed Rwakimari by nearly 3,000 votes in the revised tally, but argued that the process excluded results from key polling stations and villages that heavily favoured him.
The tribunal agreed. In its findings, it cited blatant inflation of Rwakimari’s votes in at least 16 villages and the unlawful exclusion of 22 polling stations from the final count, none of which were adequately explained by the Electoral Commission.
Additionally, 12 villages with valid Declaration of Results forms were completely ignored, disenfranchising thousands of voters.
The fallout from these irregularities proved significant. Upon correcting the tally, the tribunal found that Zinkuratire had secured 15,524 votes, leapfrogging Rwakimari’s adjusted 13,391.
Barungi, who placed third with 12,965 votes, was also ruled out as a contender, though his petition was acknowledged as reinforcing evidence of misconduct.
In her defense, Rwakimari argued that the chaotic tallying process at the district level warranted central intervention, and that the final results were within legal bounds.
Her legal team maintained that the re-tallying was transparent and that the petitions were baseless and politically motivated.
But the tribunal found her defense lacking, especially in light of the Electoral Commission’s failure to formally respond to the allegations.
“The declaration of Beatrice Rwakimari as NRM Flagbearer was not conducted in accordance with the law. The proven irregularities substantially affected the result. The tribunal therefore finds that Henry Zinkuratire Nkwasibwe is entitled to the reliefs sought,” the panel noted.
The panel, comprising Kenneth Kipaalu, Stanley Kangye, and Martin Mbanza Kalemera, and chaired by Counsel John Musiime, delivered a firm rebuke to the Electoral Commission’s conduct. Notably, the tribunal questioned why the Commission chose to ignore its own earlier directives and allowed such significant discrepancies to stand unchallenged.
The stakes in Ruhama are high. The county remains a symbolic stronghold of the NRM, previously represented by The Minister Education and Sports, and First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni before her retirement from elective politics.
The ruling comes as the party gears up for parliamentary nominations on October 22–23, with all eyes now on how the Electoral Commission will respond, or whether internal accountability measures will follow.
For now, Zinkuratire marches forward as the official NRM candidate, a flag bearer crowned not at the ballot box, but by the gavel of party justice.
Whether this courtroom coup will unite or further fracture the NRM’s grassroots support in Ruhama remains to be seen.
