Kampala. The raging wrangling among the top brass at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat has reached worrying proportions, forcing President Museveni to intervene to avert full scale fallout.

The wrangling is mainly between NRM secretary general, Ms Kasule Lumumba, and the party’s electoral commission chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi, who have levelled scathing accusations against each other.

Ms Lumumba accuses Dr Odoi of insubordination and taking the party’s internal issues to the media and messing up the NRM voter registers, which prompted postponing the party’s primary elections from Friday to tomorrow.

Dr Odoi counter-accuses Lumumba of denying him financial facilitation. “We are ready to conduct the primaries but our only frustration is lack of support from the secretary general,” Dr Odoi told the press on Thursday.

Mr Lumumba denied the accusations. Sources at the secretariat said Ms Lumumba had insisted on knowing where Dr Odoi would print the ballots and the safeguards to avoid forgery, before giving out the money.

Apparently, the Lumumba-Odoi fallout has also sucked in Ms Amelia Kyambadde (former party treasurer), Ruth Nankabirwa (Government chief whip), Ofwono Opondo, Dr Hassan Galiwango (party director for administration), Dr Kenneth Omona (deputy treasurer), among others.

Dr Odoi accused

A source said during the meeting of all NRM chairpersons and registrars at Kati Kati Restaurant in Kampala last month, Ms Kyambadde accused Dr Odoi of taking private issues to the press.

Sources also said on the day President Museveni picked nomination forms for NRM flag bearer last month, Dr Odoi clashed with one of the guards, one Male, at the secretariat. Mr Male declined to comment on the incident and instead referred us to Mr Mubarak Kalungi, a legal officer at the secretariat, who could not answer our calls.

The party sources said that on Thursday, President Museveni summoned Dr Odoi and others to State House and particularly warned him against “publicising all party issues in the press.” The President also reportedly told Dr Odoi that he is subordinate to the party secretary general and that he must respect the hierarchy.

Dr Odoi had earlier on Thursday addressed the press and made stinging outburst against Ms Lumumba. He said he derives his authority from article 39 of the NRM constitution, which makes him answerable to the Central Executive Committee (CEC), not the secretary general.

The effect

The wrangling has split the Secretariat into Lumumba and Odoi factions. Sunday Monitor has established that the polarisation is such intense that for example, the party’s communications officer, Mr Rogers Mulindwa, is not allowed to attend press conferences called by Dr Odoi. They are attended by the party deputy spokesman, Mr Ofwono Opondo, who also does not attend press conferences convened by Ms Lumumba.

“It is true I have not attended any of his (Dr Odoi) press conferences, but I respect him as my senior,” Mr Mulindwa said but declined to comment further.

However, Dr Odoi denied the President had castigated or warned him on anything.

“The President did not castigate anybody. He only lectured us about good administration and delegation of roles. He emphasised that we must be transparent in procurement, administration and that we must share information no matter what level one is at.”

The Sunday Monitor has also learnt that the party’s CEC convening today will vet candidates for top NRM posts, not to discuss the Lumumba-Odoi issue as earlier speculated in the media.