Kazibwe Jamil: Tanga Odoi Is The Biggest Liability To NRM Today!

Opinion By Kazibwe Jamil

Ask any keen political observer and they will tell you — no single individual has inflicted more damage on the internal cohesion of the NRM than Tanga Odoi. Under his watch, the party’s internal processes have descended into unprecedented chaos. The just-concluded primaries were the most shambolic in the party’s history, with almost 80% of participants challenging the outcomes.

Many of us saw this disaster coming and raised the red flag long before it happened. The Kisoro Woman MP by-election debacle, which left the party in total disarray, had already exposed Tanga Odoi’s gross incompetence. That episode proved that after a decade at the helm of the NRM Electoral Commission, he had learned nothing.

What makes this even more disheartening is that President Museveni, through his countrywide Parish Development Model tours, had invested heavily in consolidating party cohesion. But through sheer mismanagement of internal elections, Tanga Odoi has undone much of that progress, leaving fractures where unity once stood.

It is telling that even senior leaders like Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, the third-highest ranking official in the NRM hierarchy, have joined calls for Tanga Odoi’s immediate removal. The reasons are glaring: incompetence, questionable integrity, and blatant partiality.

Because one man slept on the job, the NRM now faces the uphill task of rolling out an extensive and expensive conflict resolution strategy to mend divisions before it is too late. The price of this internal damage will not just be measured in shillings, but in weakened political capital as we approach the next electoral cycle.

The truth is simple: as long as Tanga Odoi remains at the helm of the NRM Electoral Commission, unity in the party will remain an illusion.

The writer is an NRM cadre!