President Museveni has announced that at least 333 people have been arrested, and 48 formally charged, in connection with widespread irregularities that marred the recent NRM parliamentary primaries.
In a detailed statement issued on Saturday, July 26, the President revealed that the crackdown followed his directive to restore integrity within the ruling party’s internal electoral processes—particularly after the chaotic July 17 elections for parliamentary flag bearers.
“Up to now, a total of 333 persons have been arrested and 48 of these have been charged in court, 13 of whom are NRM district registrars,” Museveni stated. “They are to face prosecution in connection with, mainly, altering the results.”
The President confirmed that the ongoing operation is targeting a wider network of culprits, including those involved in voter bribery and ballot manipulation, and urged members of the public to play an active role by reporting offenders.
Despite the troubling events of the July 17 vote, Museveni noted a marked improvement during the July 24 NRM primaries for LC5 chairpersons, mayors, and other local leaders.
He described Thursday’s exercise as more peaceful and transparent, attributing the progress to the swift and firm actions taken against election malpractice.
“This is not bad at all if you bear in mind that this was, again, mid-week and on a working day… The more peaceful and fraud-free nature of the exercise is on account of the decisive anti-crime actions we took,” he said.
Preliminary reports indicate that over 7.95 million NRM members turned out to vote on July 24, with some districts still compiling results and others reporting unopposed candidates.
