How Tayebwa Took Credit for Lango NUP Defections as Real Mobilizer Was Left Crying

A crucial NRM political mobilizer from Northern Uganda has accused senior party figures of sidelining him and misrepresenting his work after he successfully convinced a group of opposition candidates to withdraw from the 2026 race and support the yellow camp.

Moses Ongwec, a cadre from Lango sub-region, says he facilitated the withdrawal of 13 NUP candidates, including eight parliamentary aspirants and five local government contenders, in a move was aimed at reducing political tension and consolidating support for President Yoweri Museveni.

However, Ongwec now claims that his efforts were later publicly attributed to Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, leaving him excluded from recognition and support.

Ongwec, in a press conference held at Grand Imperial Hotel on Monday said that his decision to engage NUP candidates was influenced by growing concern over political violence during the early stages of the 2026 campaigns, citing scenes of arrests, beatings and shootings, which he says reminded him of the region’s past instability during the insurgency led by LRA leader Joseph Kony.

Fearing a repeat of such unrest in Lango, he says he initiated direct talks with opposition candidates, eventually persuading 13 of them to step down.

The candidates, he says, agreed to withdraw on condition that their campaign expenses would be reimbursed, their security guaranteed, and some offered job opportunities in the event of an NRM victory.

With the group on board, Ongwec says he moved to formalize the arrangement by seeking support from party leadership and securing a meeting with the President.

He first contacted NRM Vice Chairman for Northern Uganda Hamson Denis Obua, briefing him on the developments and requesting assistance to meet Museveni. According to Ongwec, Obua instead referred him to a certain UPDF division commander.

The officer, he says, declined involvement, citing restrictions on military participation in political matters, and directed him back to Obua. Subsequent efforts to get help reportedly yielded no clear support.

Ongwec then reached out to NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong, who referred him to party spokesperson Emmanuel Dombo. He travelled to Hoima to meet Dombo but says no substantive assistance was offered beyond basic facilitation.

He was later advised to wait for further communication, spending up to two weeks in a hotel with the 13 defectors, before being told to return to Kampala. Even after further engagements with party officials, no meeting with the President was secured.

While he struggled to navigate party structures, Ongwec says events took a different turn in public, alleging that during a campaign rally in Western Uganda, Deputy Speaker Tayebwa presented some of the defectors as individuals he had personally convinced to join the NRM.

According to Ongwec, at least four of the candidates he had engaged were introduced in this context, with Tayebwa credited for their defection.

He says the President went on to praise Tayebwa for what was presented as a successful mobilization effort.

The yellow cadre now says the situation has left him under pressure from the defectors, who are now demanding fulfilment of the assurances made before they withdrew from the race.

He says many of them can’t return to their homes in Lango due to fear of backlash and have remained under his care as he tries to find a solution.

At the same time, he says he has accumulated debts after borrowing money to support their accommodation and welfare during the period they have been moving across the country in search of assistance.

Ongwec maintains that his intention was to promote stability in the region and strengthen support for his party, but says the lack of coordination within party structures has left him exposed.

He is now appealing for an opportunity to meet party chairman directly to present his account and seek a resolution to the challenges facing both him and the defectors.