The NRM election disputes tribunal on Monday, September 8 in its ruling nullified Collins Tanga’s victory as chairperson of NRM Youth League.
Collins Tanga is the son of Dr. Tanga Odoi, the chairperson of the NRM electoral commission.
The tribunal’s ruling has absolved Tororo District Woman MP Sarah Opendi’s assertion that Dr. Tanga Odoi is too biased to conduct free and fair party elections in Tororo district.
On June 27, 2025, while picking nomination forms, MP Opendi openly accused the NRM’s electoral commission boss of being too biased to conduct free and fair elections in Tororo district.
She later asked President Museveni as National Chairman of the NRM party to send somebody else to supervise NRM elections in Tororo district and not Tanga Odoi.
She said Dr. Tanga Odoi is already biased, has personal interest and vendetta towards some NRM candidates, arguing that since 2011, she has never been declared NRM flagbearer despite winning the primaries.
Sarah Opendi joins Sanjay Tanna, another Tororo politician that Dr. Tanga openly said in 2015 that he will never get an elective position within the NRM party as long as he remains chairperson of NRM EC.
Interestingly, Dr. Tanga who brushed off MP Opendi’s assertion calling her a person who runs mad every July, has now been vindicated by the NRM elections tribunal.
“The integrity of our party processes is paramount. We cannot allow any election to be clouded by unfair practices or conflict of interest,” the tribunal said in a statement issued on Monday.
The ruling echoes several voices from senior NRM party cadres that have raised concerns about Dr. Tanga Odoi’s credibility, ability and impartiality in conducting the party internal elections.
The most recent being the Rt Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga who voiced similar sentiments a few days to the national delegates conference that saw election of CEC members, and SIG representatives.
Other senior NRM cadres who have called out Tanga Odoi of being vindictive are Lydia Wanyoto, former CEC member representing the women’s league, the Mitooma NRM district chairman who has accused Dr. Tanga of messing up party elections in the district.
Adding to the discontented voices is Anderson Burora, NRM flagbearer for Nakawa West, who went to his X handle shortly after the delegates conference, saying, “Almost 15,000 delegates have left back to their districts because of Tanga Odoi’s sham election and intentional disenfranchisement.
“If Tanga had already declared candidates, why did they allow candidates to waste their time in campaigns? This is a total Nonsense Election.”
A senior NRM cadre and a legal mind said the Monday ruling annulling Odoi’s son victory should serve as a PRECEDENCE to the effect that where an NRM EC official has or is seen to have a conflict of interest, such an official should not be allowed to conduct or participate in such an election.
If this position is taken by the NRM party, MP Sarah Opendi’s request that Dr. Tanga Odoi be barred from conducting or participating in any election in Tororo district since he comes from the same district should be respected.
The ruling also raises serious questions about whether the NRM party is interested in corrupt-free elections and not only protecting, but promoting its own image among party members who have been forced to contest on Independent tickets because of flawed party primary elections.
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