Crispus Kiyonga Thumped in Kasese NRM Chairmanship Race

Kasese, Uganda – May 23, 2025. In a stunning political upset that has sent shockwaves through the Kasese district NRM ranks, former Defence Minister and current Makerere University Chancellor, Prof. Chrispus Kiyonga, was crushed at the ballot box today by none other than James Mbahimba, the once-humble diplomat who returned home to rewrite history.

Final results:

James Mbahimba – 948 votes

Chrispus Kiyonga – 519 votes

Festo Kajura – 04 votes (yes, you read that right)

Kiyonga, the man whose name once commanded awe from Bwera to the hills of Kyalhumba, has fallen from grace like a lion dethroned in the wild.

Today, the NRM party supporters from Kasese delivered a deafening message: the crown is not inherited, it must be earned.

“Kiyonga has been absent too long,” one voter said. “Mbahimba never left us.”

The Beginning of the End

This fall didn’t start today—it began quietly in 2016 when Kiyonga shockingly lost his Bukonzo West seat to an FDC candidate. It was a loss many dismissed as a fluke, a one-time glitch in the matrix of Kiyonga’s dominance. But insiders whispered a different truth, he was losing touch.

That year marked a turning point. While Kiyonga took up diplomatic roles abroad, the ground back home shifted. Markets changed. Local leaders rose. The people cried out—but the Chancellor was silent.

Meanwhile, Mbahimba, the former ambassador to the DRC, was back. Low-key. Calculating. Grassroots-focused. While Kiyonga was seen in conference halls and global summits, Mbahimba was at burials, fundraisers, and boda-boda stages, quietly rebuilding his base.

2024: The Smiling Assassin Returns

By the time the primaries loomed in 2025, Kiyonga appeared confident—perhaps too confident. He spoke of legacy, of history, of battles fought decades ago.

But the NRM  voters were looking at today—and today, they saw a different warrior.

Mbahimba’s campaign was sleek but grounded. No big speeches. No grandstanding. Just relentless mobilization and whispered promises: “I never left you, and I never will.”

The Fall

When the final vote count came in, Kiyonga sat stone-faced. 519 votes. A respectable number—but far from enough to match Mbahimba’s thunderous 948.

Gone was the ministerial swagger. Gone was the academic gravitas. In its place stood a man who once ruled Kasese, now watching as party members marched past him, banners high, drums rolling.