By Our Reporter
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has barred retired UPDF Captain Daudi Ruhinda Maguru from vying for the party’s presidential flag bearer position in the 2026 general elections.
Maguru, who sought to challenge incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for the NRM ticket, was rejected on Friday evening by the party’s electoral chairperson, Dr. Tanga Odoi, for failing to submit mandatory documents—despite paying the 20 million shilling nomination fee.
Counsel Enoch Barata, the NRM’s Director of Legal Affairs and head of the verification team, confirmed the disqualification, citing Maguru’s failure to provide a proposer, seconder, or registered NRM voters to support his bid.
Barata stated that Maguru arrived without a national ID or certified academic credentials. Although granted additional time to rectify the omissions, he returned just before 5 pm—two hours after nominations closed—with Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates from Makerere University but still no nominators, resulting in his exclusion.
Barata emphasised that the party could not entertain last-minute aspirants relying on emotional appeals in such a critical process. With Maguru’s disqualification, President Museveni remains the sole nominee for the NRM presidential candidacy.
Museveni paid 40 million shillings to retain both the party presidency and flag bearer position—roles he has held since the NRM’s formation.
Maguru, however, denounced the decision, vowing to sue the ruling party for alleged bias. He questioned why only one nomination form—reserved for Museveni—had been printed.
He is the third aspirant blocked from challenging Museveni in NRM primaries, following Julius Tumuhimbise, 36, from Bushenyi, and Briton Kiwanuka, 30, from Jinja, both denied forms despite paying fees.
The NRM has consistently safeguarded top positions for Museveni. In March 2019, MPs endorsed him as the party’s sole candidate during a Kyankwanzi retreat, a stance later ratified by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) in Chobe.
Maguru has a history of confrontations with the NRM leadership. In 2010, he opposed Museveni’s uncontested candidacy, was arrested in 2014 for trespassing at the National Leadership Institute, and made unsuccessful nomination attempts in 2016 and 2020.