A Ugandan court on Wednesday remanded Onesmas Twinamasiko, the ruling National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) parliamentary flag bearer for Bugangaizi East, on charges of assaulting Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja during a political scuffle in Kakumiro District.
The Kibaale Chief Magistrate’s Court charged Twinamasiko with assault and causing bodily harm, sending him to Kibaale Government Prison until Sept. 10.
Prosecutors allege that on July 17, during the declaration of NRM primary results for parliamentary flag bearers at the party’s Kakumiro office, a fight broke out and Twinamasiko struck the prime minister in full view of supporters.
Nabbanja, who represents Kakumiro District in parliament, was reportedly injured in the incident.
Twinamasiko applied for bail, citing his constitutional right and presenting three sureties, including Kakumiro District Chairman Joseph Ssetayi Senkusu, local leader Hon. Lawrence Baraza, and sub-county chairperson Moses Twimukye. But the state attorney objected, and the magistrate remanded him.
The case comes against the backdrop of violent NRM primaries across the country, where contests for party tickets ahead of the 2026 general election have been marred by fistfights, intimidation, and destruction of property.
Analysts say the internal polls, often more hotly contested than the national election itself, have exposed deep fractures in the ruling party that has dominated Uganda’s politics for nearly four decades under President Yoweri Museveni.
Neither Nabbanja nor her office immediately commented on the incident.
