Overview:
The protest in Arua follows similar demonstrations in Arua City by boda-boda operators and NRM structure leaders over missing mobilization funds totaling over UGX 200 million, which remain unaccounted for.
National Resistance Movement-NRM officials in Arua District have raised concerns over millions of shillings meant for political mobilization during the January 15, 2026, general elections, claiming the funds never reached intended beneficiaries. The money was intended to facilitate the district NRM Executive Committee members, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the women’s league, village chairpersons, and the district finance secretary.
According to documents obtained, UGX 80 million was allocated for mobilization across the 257 villages in Arua, with each village set to receive UGX 300,000. Additionally, UGX 8 million was designated to transport PWDs, sick, and elderly voters, and UGX 4 million to facilitate Sub-County Chairpersons and Registrars.
On Wednesday, 20 NRM officials, led by the Arua District Vice Chairman, gathered to demand the funds, expressing shock that other districts reportedly received their allocations while Arua officials were left empty-handed. Grace Edomasia, the NRM Finance Secretary for Arua District and signatory to the NRM accounts, said she withdrew the funds but was instructed to hand them over to Julius Abele, the NRM Registrar.
She has reportedly never seen the money again. Meanwhile, Alfred Ababo, the NRM Vice Chairperson in Arua, said he has been under pressure by local NRM leaders to release the money, which he claims he has never touched.
Other NRM leaders who stormed the offices stated they would not relent until the funds were paid.
Deputy RDC of Arua District, Dennis Jawoko, who met the aggrieved officials, advised them to seek clarification from the NRM Secretariat, which sent the money. He added that the RDC’s office is ready to direct criminal investigations into the matter once requested.
Efforts to reach the implicated NRM officials—Chairman Boniface Alioni, Registrar Julius Abele, Administrator Francis Eyotre, and Coordinator Swadik Drandua—proved futile, as they declined to respond to calls for clarification. According to the protestors, information about the amounts released by the NRM Secretariat was not shared with Arua officials until they learned about it from neighboring districts.
The NRM offices in Arua have remained closed for the past two weeks as the whereabouts of core officials remain unknown. Angry party leaders have vowed to march to the NRM Secretariat in Kampala if the funds are not released. The protest in Arua follows similar demonstrations in Arua City by boda-boda operators and NRM structure leaders over missing mobilization funds totaling over UGX 200 million, which remain unaccounted for.
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