The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Election Disputes Tribunal has confirmed former presidential candidate Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Henry Tumukunde as the party’s flag bearer for Rukungiri Municipality, bringing to an end a high-profile petition that sought to nullify his victory in the July 17 primary elections.
The challenge was brought by Isaac Atukunda, who finished third in the race with 1,646 votes, behind incumbent MP Elisa’s 2,826 votes and Tumukunde’s commanding 4,542. Atukunda accused the retired general of being ineligible to contest under the NRM banner, claiming he was illegally registered as a member, wrongly nominated, and had orchestrated a range of electoral offences, including bribery, intimidation, violence, and the involvement of ineligible voters.
Central to Atukunda’s case was the argument that Tumukunde forfeited his NRM membership when he ran for president in 2021 as an independent candidate. He also argued that Tumukunde was not a resident of Rukungiri Municipality and that widespread irregularities had compromised the integrity of the polls.
Tumukunde’s legal team countered that he had been properly nominated by the NRM Electoral Commission and that no objections had been raised at the time of nomination. They also maintained that his participation in the 2021 presidential election as an independent had not resulted in any formal resignation or expulsion from the party, and that he remained a registered voter in Rukungiri Municipality.
After reviewing the evidence, the Tribunal ruled entirely in Tumukunde’s favour. It found no proof that he had ever officially left or been dismissed from the NRM, noting that the party’s constitution requires a clear and lawful process for expulsion — a process that had not been triggered in his case. Updated 2025 party membership guidelines, which allow members to rejoin through local structures and the Directorate of Legal Services, were also cited as further confirmation of his standing within the party.
On the question of residency, the panel reaffirmed that neither the NRM’s own primary election rules nor national electoral laws require parliamentary aspirants to live in the constituencies they seek to represent.
The Tribunal also dismissed the allegations of malpractice as unsubstantiated.
While Atukunda alleged serious irregularities, the panel concluded that the claims were too general, lacked names or direct links to Tumukunde’s campaign, and therefore failed to meet the burden of proof.
Even if minor irregularities had occurred, the Tribunal found they would not have altered the outcome given the more than 3,000-vote margin between Tumukunde and his closest rival.
With all grounds of the petition failing, the Tribunal upheld the results of the July 17 primaries and confirmed Tumukunde as the duly elected NRM flag bearer for Rukungiri Municipality.
The ruling was formally endorsed by Tribunal Chairperson John Musiime and members Stanley Kangye, Blair Afwebembeire, and Elton Mugabi.
