The political temperature within the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Eastern Uganda is boiling over after veteran party leader and NRM CEC Vice Chairman for Eastern Uganda, Captain Mike Mukula, took to social media to celebrate the defeat of his longtime rival Teddy Acham in the Soroti City elders’ elections.
In a post made on X (formerly Twitter), Mukula wrote: “Breaking news: The cantankerous TEDDY ACHAM Soroti City overwhelmingly defeated in elders elections just now… The city NRM supporters in jubilation.”
The post, laced with triumph and a thinly veiled jab at Acham, reignited the deep-rooted feud between the two political heavyweights, dating back years.
The rivalry intensified in 2020 when Acham openly backed Sanjay Tanna’s failed attempt to unseat Mukula from the Central Executive Committee (CEC), the party’s top decision-making organ.
Now, with the NRM gearing up for what is shaping up to be a bruising internal contest ahead of the 2026 general elections, Acham is backing David Calvin Echodu, a rising figure in Teso politics, in a fresh challenge to Mukula’s long-standing grip on the party’s leadership in the region.
Sources close to the inner workings of State House say Acham, often referred to as a “blue-eyed friend” of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has leveraged her direct access to the President to report alleged excesses by some regional NRM leaders, including Mukula.
According to insiders, she has managed to bypass layers of security to speak directly with the President on multiple occasions.
This was most recently seen during the Presidential Wealth Creation Tour in Kumi District, where Acham reportedly seized the opportunity to privately raise concerns with President Museveni about the declining fortunes of the NRM in the Teso Sub-region.
In that interaction, she allegedly blamed a section of Teso NRM leaders for alienating the grassroots and contributing to the party’s waning support.
Her boldness, however, may have cost her.
Analysts suggest that her humiliating loss in the Soroti City elders’ race could be a coordinated response by political adversaries within the party who see her as a disruptive force and a threat to the status quo.
While Mukula did not clarify why he referred to Acham as “cantankerous,” many see the comment as a culmination of years of political tension between the two, most notably during the controversial Soroti City East by-election, which further strained factional alliances within the regional NRM structure.
But Mukula’s celebratory tone did not sit well with all party members.
Political analyst and State House Private Secretary in charge of Political Mobilization, Mr. Augustine Otuko, fired back at Mukula on X, calling his remarks unbecoming of a senior party leader.
“Somebody at a level of a National Vice Chairman, Eastern Region, a member of the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC), a top policy organ of the party, celebrating the loss of an NRM league chairperson at Sub-County/City Division is glaring evidence that somebody is NOT fit to lead at the top echelon of the Party,” Otuko wrote.
He continued, “For long, some of us have said Cpt @Mukulaa is the source of confusion and division in Teso. Other people thought we disrespect elders.”
Otuko’s remarks have further stirred debate in political circles, with some interpreting them as an early warning that Mukula’s dominance in Teso could be facing a formidable challenge, not just from Acham or Echodu, but from younger leaders within the NRM who feel stifled by entrenched power structures.
Political observers say the spat exposes deeper cracks within the NRM in Eastern Uganda, a region once considered a stronghold but now increasingly plagued by internal wrangling and public discontent.
With David Calvin Echodu preparing a bid to unseat Mukula for the Eastern Uganda CEC slot and Teddy Acham refusing to fade from the political scene despite her defeat, the stage is set for a high-stakes showdown that could redefine NRM’s leadership dynamics in the region.
The battle lines are now clearly drawn, and the public conflict between Mukula, Acham, and now Otuko, has brought long-simmering tensions to the surface.
Whether these divisions can be mended before the 2026 general elections remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the NRM Eastern Uganda race is heating up, and the outcome may reshape the future of the party in Teso.
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