Former Makerere University guild president Lawrence Alionzi, popularly known as Dangote, has emerged victorious in the highly contested Arua City NRM mayoral primaries, defeating incumbent Sam Wadri Nyakua.
Alionzi, who recently defected from the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) to join the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), garnered over 24,300 votes, securing the NRM party flag for the upcoming general elections.
Nyakua came in second, while Isa Kato trailed in third with 4,200 votes. The final results were declared late on Friday night, following a tense 30-hour stalemate triggered by irregularities in the tallying process.
The tallying had initially been suspended on Thursday night after Arua resident city commissioner (RCC) Salim Komakech ordered a halt due to discrepancies discovered during the process.
Tensions remained high throughout Friday, with both Alionzi and Nyakua camped at the Mayor’s Gardens, awaiting a final declaration from regional NRM officials based in Gulu. In a surprising turn before the final tally, Sam Wadri Nyakua requested to make a statement, during which he urged election officials to declare Alionzi as the winner and then quietly left the venue.
Despite Nyakua’s demands, electoral officials proceeded with the process and, at around 11:20 pm, Joel Obwonyo, the regional NRM returning officer, officially declared Alionzi as the duly elected NRM flag bearer for the Arua city mayoral seat.
Arrests over irregularities
The chaos surrounding the tallying process led to the arrest of three NRM registrars Tom Amagu, Luigi Amandu (Etori Ward), and Cosmas Atabua (Yivu Ward).
All three were later detained at Arua City Central police station (CPS). Following the announcement, hundreds of Alionzi’s supporters poured into the streets of Arua city, celebrating his victory well into the night.
“It was not an easy journey for us, for a person of 25 years to win such a race — and I want to thank all my supporters for standing firm to protect our victory,” Alionzi said after his declaration.
RCC Komakech called for calm and unity, urging NRM members and supporters to now shift their focus to the national general elections scheduled for January next year.