Ms Nabaasa Innocent Kashobera, popularly known as Enyangi, has announced that she will contest as an independent candidate for Woman Member of Parliament for Rukungiri District.
Ms Nabaasa, who came third among six candidates in the recent NRM primaries, attributed her decision to widespread electoral malpractice, including voter bribery and intimidation of her supporters by rival camps.
“Can you imagine an agent holding my official appointment letter, bearing my name, was paid Shs 80,000 by Paula’s and Midius’ camps?” Nabaasa alleged. “This trade started a week to elections, and I had to embark on a fresh search for agents as voting day approached.”
She further narrated how during her final rally on Sunday, 13th July in Ruhinda and parts of Bugangari, her supporters informed her that they had been threatened with violence if they did not vote for certain candidates.
“They told me if they didn’t vote the incumbent MPs, my votes wouldn’t be counted and they would be beaten by soldiers. With the heavy deployment across Rujumbura, voters feared voting for me. Others were forced to join the incumbent’s line,” she said.
Ms Nabaasa described the events in Bwambara as even worse due to intense army deployment and also decried the absence of her polling agents on voting day.
“One of my chief agents told me supporters feared to join my line amidst the heavy deployment.”
“In most of my villages, agents had no appointment letters. Supporters kept calling me asking what had happened. Within minutes of voting, it was impossible to deliver letters to places as far as Bwambara or Nyakishenyi. I asked them to at least use my posters, but NRM registrars were not flexible. They chased away anyone without an agent letter, which to me seemed like connivance.”
Despite her frustrations, Ms Nabaasa reaffirmed her loyalty to the NRM but condemned what she described as a “money election.”
“I love NRM so much, but the party should be willing to offer members free and fair elections, not money elections. The NRM primaries were a competition of who has more money and who can buy more agents, not about merit. When shall we ever get capable leaders if elections are all about money?” She lamented.
She warned that leaders who spend billions to secure nominations will never prioritise uplifting locals from poverty.
“Each vote was for sale. Now I understand why Rukungiri is underdeveloped.” She said.
In Nyakishenyi, she claimed her parish coordinators and village agents were offered “irresistible money” to defect.
“This wasn’t an election. The President should intervene and hold the culprits accountable.”in light of what she termed as “unfairness and electoral fraud,” Ms Nabaasa concluded:
Ms Nabaasa has therefore declared intention to contest as an independent candidate for Woman Member of Parliament Rukungiri District.
