MBARARA
The Democratic Party’s (DP) internal elections were thrown into disarray Saturday night after a violent incident at the party’s Delegates Conference at Asamar Hotel in Rut, Mbarara, where delegates accused the party’s Electoral chairperson Kennedy Mutenywa of conniving with the outgoing party president Nobert Mao during a heated confrontation.
The shocking altercation forced the party’s Electoral Commission to call off the voting process, which was scheduled to take place at last night.
Tensions had reportedly been building throughout the evening, with loud chants and verbal clashes between rival camps, mainly those supporting Ssebamala creating an atmosphere of chaos.
DP party EC chairperson Mutenywa said the situation became unmanageable late into the night. “The process had started smoothly, but as tempers flared and shouting escalated, it became impossible to proceed,” Mutenywa told journalis. “I had no choice but to cancel the vote.”
Following the melee, Mao announced he was handing over the party leadership to Mutenywa, but this move only added fuel to the fire. Delegates rejected the handover, expressing no confidence in Mutenywa either. They demanded his immediate resignation as the Electoral Commission chairperson and called for a new vote to determine who would preside over the election.
“We don’t have trust in the EC Chairperson,” said Ssebamala in a tense address. “The delegates should decide who leads this process.”
The conference, which began on Friday, May 30, was intended to conclude today, June 1. With no voting having taken place and tensions still high, the fate of the party’s leadership contest featuring Mao, Ssebamala, and former Buikwe South MP Micheal Lulume Bayiga remains uncertain.
Security at the venue has since been intensified, with police and private guards maintaining a heavy presence as the party seeks a path forward.
By press time, voting had not resumed. With leadership disputes unresolved and confidence in the electoral process shaken, the Democratic Party’s internal elections now hang in limbo.
