Bugwere
Lt. Saleh Kamba
Saleh Kamba is the Member of Parliament for Kibuku County, Kibuku District. In 2011 he was appointed Minister of State for Bunyoro Affairs but was rejected by Parliament. However, he was instrumental in campaigning for Museveni in his home area.
Jennifer Namuyangu
She was Woman Member of Parliament for Pallisa from 2001 to 2011. At the time she was also a State Minister for Water Resources from 2006 to 2011, and during that time she campaigned for President Museveni. In 2011, she lost the Kibuku seat to Saleh Kamba after the constituency was carved out of Pallisa.
Loi Kageni Kiryapawo
A two time Member of Parliament, Loi Kageni Kiryapawo was first elected to the House in 2000, to represent Budaka County. She comes from a ‘political family’, and her husband Dr. Thomas Sisye Kiryapawo was one time a Minister of State for Finance. He also worked at the Electoral Commission as a Commissioner.
Steven Oscar Malinga
The late Dr Stephen Oscar Malinga represented Butebo County in Pallisa district and served in the ministries of Health and Disaster Preparedness. Earlier, Dr Malinga had stayed in the US for 23 years, becoming a citizen of ‘Uncle Sam’, a development that almost cost him his Ugandan cabinet appointments since at the time Uganda did not provide for dual citizenship.
Formerly a diehard Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) supporter, Malinga, a medical doctor, crossed to the NRM in 2005 and campaigned for Museveni in the subsequent elections of 2006 and 2011. He died in 2013 aged 69.
Dr. Patrick Lodoi Mutono
He is the current MP for Butebo County, having replaced the late Dr Stephen Malinga. Like his predecessor, Dr Mutono also spent a long time in the US before returning home to join politics. In 2007 he contested against Issa Bantalib Taligoola for the Pallisa District chairmanship and lost.
He is a Board Member of Kanginima Hospital in Butebo, and is a well-known philanthropist, the founder of Lodoi Development Fund Project.
Bunyole
Jacob Wangolo
He is the Member of Parliament for Bunyole County West where he was elected on the NRM ticket. He is one of the people who worked tooth and nail to ensure Museveni gets votes in Bunyole.
Haji Badru Wegulo
Haji Badru Wegulo was a staunch Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) supporter and held different positions including that of the party vice chairman. However in 2010, he defected to the ruling National Resistance Movement together a colleague, Henry Mayega. Much as he was a new entrant, he played a vital role in campaigning for Museveni in Bunyole.
Tororo
Emmanuel Otala
Emmanuel Otaala joined politics in 2006, contesting for a parliamentary seat on the (NRM) party ticket. He won and served as the area MP from 2006 until 2011. In the 2011 national elections, he lost to Jacob Oboth Oboth, an Independent politician, who is the incumbent. Dr. Otaala served as the State Minister of Health for Primary Care in 2006. In February 2009, Dr. Otaala was appointed State Minister in the Ministry of Labour however in a reshuffle, he was dropped from cabinet.
Phoebe Otaala
Phoebe is the he wife of Emmanuel Otaala. She hails from West Budama and she is the National Vice chairperson of the NRM Women League.
Sanjey Tanna
A Ugandan of Asian descent, Sanjay Tanna joined Ugandan politics in 2006 when became the Member of Parliament representing Tororo Municipality. In the party primaries he contested against Apollo Yeri Ofwono and lost. He then stood as an Independent and won. However, he remains close to Museveni.
Fox Odoi Oyelwowo
Fox Odoi is the current Member of Parliament for West Budama North, having been elected in 2011 on the NRM ticket. He is close to Museveni, having worked in State House as a Legal Assistant for close to 20 years.
Dr Tanga Odoi
A former history lecturer at Makerere University, Dr Tanga Odoi is the current chairman of the NRM Electoral Commission. While at Makerere, Dr Odoi was a vocal activist of the Makerere University Staff Association (MUASA), and he is remembered for giving government a hard time when issues of salary increment surfaced. Though little is known about his National Resistance Movement links, some say during election time he was always busy on the ground soliciting for support for Museveni.
Jacob Oboth Oboth
Jacob Oboth Oboth is the current Member of Parliament for West Budama South. A lawyer by profession, Oboth Oboth is an NRM who run as an Independent after claiming that he was rigged out in the primaries. He was among the people that ensured that Tororo votes go to Museveni.
Others are Akisofeli Ogola and Osindek Wangor, a former UPC stalwart who crossed to the NRM.
Busia
Simon Mayende
Currently he is the Director of Information and National Guidance in the Office of the Prime Minister. Although he lost his parliamentary seat in 2006 to Julius Maganda he played a significant role in canvasing for votes for the President in 2006 and in 2011.
Gabriel Opio
Between 1993 and 1996, he served as a member of the National Resistance Council representing Samia-Bugwe constituency of the then Tororo district. In 1996, he was elected to the Ugandan Parliament, representing Samia-Bugwe South in the newly created Busia District. In 1999, he was appointed State Minister for Finance, responsible for Planning and Investments, serving in that position until 2001 when he lost his parliamentary seat to Simon Mayende.
Between 2002 and 2006, prior to his appointment to the Gender portfolio, Opio served in various capacities, including as Director of National Water Sewerage Corporation, Director of Centenary Bank, and Commisioner of the Uganda AIDS Commission.
In the national election cycle of 2011, he lost his parliamentary seat of Samia-Bugwe South to Julius Maganda, an independent political candidate who is the incumbent MP for the constituency.
Aggrey Awori
A seasoned politician and one time diehard UPC supporter, Aggrey Awori has contested at highest levels in Uganda, for the presidency in 2001.He the contested for the Samia Bugwe South constituency and won, joining parliament. In 2007 he defected from the UPC and joined the NRM and in a surprise move, in 2009 he was appointed the Minister for Information Communications Technology, serving in that capacity till 2011 when he was dropped from the cabinet and replaced by Ruhakana Rugunda.
Elgon Region
James Mutende Shinyabulo
An economist of high repute, James Mutende Shinyabulo has taught Economics at Makerere and at the New York State University, where he pursued his Doctoral studies. He also worked with the defunct Uganda Commercial Bank from 1989 to 1994 and at the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) as an Investment Officer.
In 2006 he lost in the NRM Primaries for Mbale Municipality Member of Parliament but was instrumental in supporting Museveni in Mbale and in 2011 he was name State Minister for Industry.
Lydia Mutende Wanyoto
Lydia Mutende Wanyoto represented Uganda in the East African Legislative Assembly from 2001 until 2011. She has a strong background in the NRM having been recruited by James Wapakabulo as an aide in his office when he as the Speaker of Parliament. In 2011, she was a member of the NRM Election Commission. She has been very vital in canvassing for support for the President in the Elgon, where opposition stalwart Nandala Mafabi enjoys huge support. She is married to Dr Mutende, and is currently working in Somalia as the AU Chairperson’s Special Representative.
Hassan Galiwango
Hassan Galiwango is currently working at the NRM Secretariat. After the death of James Wapakhabulo, he tried to contest for the Mbale Municipality seat but lost to Wanjusi Wasieba. Nonetheless, he has been a Museveni mobiliser in Mbale, especially the Municipality which is associated with opposition.
Charles Madibo Wagidoso
Charles Madibo Wagidosi is Uganda’s Ambassadors to the Republic of China. He was among the people that played a very vital role in campaigning for Museveni in 2006 and 2011.
Lumolo Mafabi
A businessman, Lumolo Mafabi hails from Sironko District. Given his financial muscle he worked very hard to mobilize support for Museveni in Mbale. However, FDC strongman Nandala Mafabi won the Sironko seat after defeating former presidency minister Beatrice Wabudeya.
David Wambi Kibale
David Wambi Kibale served as the LCV chairperson for Sironko district until 2011 when he lost to FDC’s James Nabende. Wambi played a big part in campaigning for Museveni both in 2006 and 2011.
Olive Wonekha
Currently, she is Uganda’s Ambassador to the United States of America. She joined politics when she was elected Woman Member of Parliament for Mbale District from 2001 to 2006. She later shifted to Bududa which had been newly created in 2006 where she was elected the Woman Member of Parliament. Although she was ousted in 2011, the role she had played in campaigning for Museveni cannot be underestimated, the reason she was appointed Ambassador when she lost elections in 2011.
Sebei
Maj. Juma Seiko
Major Juma Seiko is an aide to General Salim Saleh who is the President’s brother. He is a very influential man in Sebei and a kingmaker. His opinion matters in the Sebei region.
Robert Chemonges
Rukia Chekamando
A teacher by profession, Rukia Chekamondo joined politics in 2006, contesting for the Kapchwora District Woman seat on the NRM party ticket. She won and was appointed Minister of State for Privatization. In 2011 she lost her parliamentary seat and was dropped from the cabinet in a reshuffle in May. Before losing her parliamentary seat, she had done a lot in terms of campaigning for Museveni in Sebei.
Jane Frances Kuka
Jane Frances Kuka is a former Member of Parliament for Kapchorwa and Minister for Gender. A strong advocate against female genital mutilation, Kuka is the current RDC for
Other strong mobilisers for NRM in Sebei include the late Bartille Toskin and Kween MP Abdi Fadhil Kisos Chemaswet.
