The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Chairperson for the Eastern Region, Capt Mike Mukula has lashed out at the party’s Electoral Commission Chairman Dr.Tanga Odoi for always undermining top party leaders.
While speaking on what transpired in the Serere By-Election on Friday, Capt Mukula said Dr Tanga Odoi blames NRM’s loss on him for allegedly failing to mobilize and also failing to attend any of the rallies held by their party flag bearer Philip Oucor. Capt. Mukula said that was total blackmail.
“My brother Dr. Tanga Odoi said that I ordered brother Oucor, the flag bearer to surrender the flag! This is not correct, this is absolute nonsense, I can never do that. This is wrong. To my brother Tanga, as a leader, you don’t make any senseless statements of such weight, you must think before you talk, that’s leadership. You cannot go on and attack your own without substance! I think some people’s heads need to be examined before they assume some offices,” he said.
Furious Mukula also reminded Dr Tanga that NRM has got its structures with proper methods of work which call for respect in the hierarchy and structure of the party.
“I’m an elected member of the NRM, Deputy to the president of Uganda the Chairman representing the Eastern region, and I have a lot of respect for many people in our functionaries in the party (The secretariate), very hard working and energetic but there are one or two elements sometimes who are very inconsiderate but I deal with that internally,” he said.
Capt Mukula further explained why he had to stay away from campaigns in the just concluded Serere by-election because it was an issue of conflicting royalty.
“I wrote to the President on the 11th of February 2023 and informed him that the late Bishop and his family were very close to me personally, and on the same strength the flag bearer is also a good friend of mine and they are related to each other. In order not to divide our supporters in Serere and the fact that I’m deeply in them, I opted not to take part in campaigns and I also informed Vice Chairman Haji Kigongo,” he said.
Capt Mukula revealed that his absence in the campaigns was known very well by the National Chairman Gen Museveni because he is answerable to Gen Museveni but not Dr Tang Odoi.
“Tanga Odoi is below me, and I don’t respond to him. We appointed him as a Central Executive Committee and in the hierarchy of the system, we have the head of the Secretariate who is the Secretary-General. And if I’m to communicate he is the one I inform, not Dr Tanga. Also if an independent but NRM-leaning wins what’s wrong with that? My brother Tang Odoi I want you to learn democracy we have been in longer than you,” he said.
The verbal war between Capt Mukula and Dr Tanga Odoi rose from Capt Mukula’s refusal to support the NRM flag bearer in the Serere by-election. According to Dr Tanga, Capt Mukula as the regional party head was supposed to support his party flag bearer but he failed to show up, instead, he was the first to congratulate the winner Emmanuel Omoding who was an independent.
However, according to Capt Mukula, Omoding’s win is like NRM’s win therefore members of NRM must not stress too much because the Serere by-election winner is also from NRM.
He also advised Dr Tanga; “Embrace, be tolerant, don’t rush to expel and threaten people in the party that’s not the way movement works because we are in a political space and competing so if you push away the independents, the other political parties will take them. My humble advice to Dr Tanga is; some of us have been in this politics for a good time let nobody claim to know my house better than me, I know Teso politics for a long time.”
Meanwhile, in the elections, Mr Emmanuel Omoding, the son of the late Patrick Okabe was declared the winner with 15,638 votes, while his closest rival, Mr Phillip Oucor of NRM, got 13,206 votes. Ms Alice Alaso of Opposition Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) got 3,339; Mr Martin Onguruco, an independent, got 2,523, and Mr Emmanuel Eratu of FDC came last with 1,252.
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