Heartbreak in Rujumbura: Youth Leader Turns Independent After NRM “Erasure”

Rukungiri: The current District Youth Counselor and aspiring Member of Parliament for Rujumbura County Hon. Steven Tumuhimbise, has announced that he will contest as an independent candidate after being denied access to NRM nomination forms.

This came after his name was found missing from the party’s voters’ register both at the village level and at the NRM Secretariat.

Eyewitnesses say his name was deliberately crossed out using ink from the village register. Despite serving the NRM diligently, Hon. Tumuhimbise was told he could not be nominated because his name was never on the register.

Tumuhimbise has held various positions under the NRM flag, including, NRM Village Youth Chairperson, Publicity Secretary for Nyabiteete Parish, Students’ Affairs Coordinator in Bugangari Sub-county

In 2021, he actively campaigned for President Museveni and Gen. Jim Muhwezi and was appointed Chief Polling Agent for the President in Bugangari Sub-county.

Hon. Tumuhimbise says it is shameful and heartbreaking that the very party he has served loyally has denied him an opportunity to compete in the primaries especially after he paid the required nomination fee of UGX 3 million.

He also revealed that, although other candidates with similar issues were assisted, he was abandoned, raising suspicions about political bias.

Hon. Tumuhimbise has declared that he will continue his campaign as an Independent candidate. He emphasized that although the party has disappointed him, his love for President Museveni and the NRM vision remains strong.