Basajjabalaba Faces Disqualification from NRM Entrepreneurs League Race Over Fake Delegates Scandal

Kololo, Kampala — The bid by embattled businessman Hajj Hassan Basajjabalaba to reclaim the chairmanship of the NRM Entrepreneurs League hangs by a thread after a chaotic election day at Kololo Independence Grounds on Monday.

The process collapsed into confusion after five of his rivals King Ceasor Mulenga, Phillip Kakuru, Sanjay Tana, Mukesh Shukla and Edson Ruyondo petitioned the NRM leadership accusing Basajjabalaba of deploying underhand methods including ferrying fake delegates to tilt the vote in his favor.

The petitioners allege that Basajjabalaba smuggled over 800 fake delegates into Kololo, many of whom had no accreditation cards, while others possessed forged ones.

“Most of his so-called delegates do not even have national identity cards, and those who came with IDs had forged documents,” one of the complainants told reporters shortly after the aborted polls.

According to the rival candidates, several of Basajjabalaba’s supposed delegates were missing from the official NRM entrepreneurs’ league register, while others had been trafficked and held hostage in Tanzania and Kenya after their national IDs were confiscated.

“We have evidence showing delegates ferried across borders and locked up in hotels against their will,” Phillip Kakuru alleged.

During the National Executive Council meeting at State House on Saturday, chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, similar concerns had been raised. The meeting resolved to open an investigation into Basajjabalaba’s alleged election malpractice.

The President warned that whoever is hiding delegates is playing with fire. He condemned such acts, reminding us that it is exactly the kind of impunity that destroyed the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).

Security sources confirmed that the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) has already taken up the case and will soon table a detailed report to the President. The investigators are also probing allegations that Basajjabalaba inflated delegate numbers at Kololo far beyond the official figures.

As tensions boiled over, the NRM Electoral Commission suspended the Entrepreneurs League elections until further notice.

This latest scandal has once again brought back to the fore Basajjabalaba’s chequered record, including his infamous case of forging President Museveni’s signature to secure a fraudulent multi-billion shilling compensation package, and his involvement in dubious deals surrounding city markets and universities.

“This is not new. Forgery and fraud follow his name everywhere. From fake signatures to fake delegates — the pattern is the same,” remarked one of the petitioners.

With the party’s top organ already split on whether he should remain in the race, observers say Basajjabalaba is now staring at possible disqualification from the NRM CEC elections once security report is tabled before the party chairman.