Untold Story: How the Fight Over Soroti Golf Club Land Cost Mukula His NRM CEC Seat as Echodu Struck Back!

Even though Ugandan-born US businessman Calvin David Echodu had quietly funded several National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates in the Teso Sub-region since 2016, he had little interest in seeking political office—until flamboyant pilot Captain Mike Mukula crossed paths with him in the battle for Soroti Golf Club land.

Investigations reveal that Echodu initially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with individuals who claimed to be the rightful custodians of Soroti Golf Club land. He quickly moved to develop the property, even erecting private structures. However, Soroti City Council contested the ownership and demolished the buildings.

Sources say Echodu later compromised councilors to overturn their earlier decision. Yet in 2023, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba intervened, halting development and ordering verification of the land’s ownership.

It was during his private inquiries that Echodu discovered Mukula was behind the resistance. Efforts to strike a deal with Mukula failed, as the former state minister stood firm, insisting that public land must only be acquired through lawful processes.

Angered, Echodu declared a political war on Mukula. By 2024, he announced his bid for NRM National Vice Chairperson (Eastern Uganda). Mukula dismissed him, focusing instead on Sanjay Tana—until word spread that both President Yoweri Museveni and Gen. Salim Saleh had thrown their weight behind Echodu.

Echedu meeting President Museveni

Museveni reportedly ordered Echodu’s security detail reinforced with an SFC convoy. The President and his brother were said to be impressed not only with Echodu’s wealth and networks but also his international connections through his wife, Dorothy Echodu—a US citizen, granddaughter of philanthropist Douglas Dillon (former US Treasury Secretary and Rockefeller Foundation chair), and a global business magnate.

In Uganda, the Echodus have investments in education, transport, and hospitality. Their financial backing of NRM candidates without expectation of reward also won them favor at the highest level.

Caught off guard, Mukula initially banked on the influence of Speaker Anita Among and NRM Vice Chairperson Moses Kigongo, hoping joint campaigns would counter Echodu’s momentum. But Echodu’s grassroots mobilization proved unstoppable.

At the last moment, Mukula withdrew from the race, citing corruption, bribery, and irregularities in the elections—despite having sunk billions into his campaign.

The Soroti Golf Club land dispute had escalated into a full-blown political showdown—one that ultimately cost Mike Mukula his coveted seat at the NRM’s Central Executive Committee.