Former junior lands minister Hon Aidah Erios Nantaba has announced that she will seek a third parliamentary term as the district woman representative for Kayunga district in the 2026 elections.
She vowed, however, not to take part in the primaries of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the election.
Nantaba claims the party has been hijacked by corrupt people in the district, which forced her to quit and run as an independent candidate in the past two elections.
“The NRM party in Kayunga is led by a land grabber whom I’m fighting and I cannot be under him,” she said, referring to the Kayunga District NRM party Chairperson, Moses Kalangwa.
Kalangwa has been embroiled in several land wrangles in the district including mass evictions and allegations that he grabbed land from a local primary school.
Nantaba said during a radio show that until Kalangwa quits the NRM, she will never again consider being part of the ruling party.
“Right now I am independent, and I want nothing to do with the NRM unless they get rid of him,” she said.
Nantaba also blamed Kalangwa for driving many people of Kayunga out of the NRM because of his corruption,
“The party used to poll above 95%, but many people left because of him,” she said.
Asked whether she is still close to President Museveni despite her removal from cabinet in 2021, Nantaba answered in the affirmative.
“The President talks to everybody; he talks to Norbert Mao of DP and Gen Moses Ali, a former Amin soldier, why would he not talk to me?” she said.
Nantaba famously called President Museveni at one of her public gatherings and put him on speaker to chat with her supporters.
The former Minister has contested twice as an independent candidate and won the Kayunga seat, following bitter disagreements in the party primaries.