President Museveni entered the meeting room at State House and immediately asked the NRM vice chairperson Hajj Moses Kigongo, who also doubles as the chairperson of the NRM disciplinary committee, to explain the agenda.

Hajj Kigongo, then made reference to the March 11 press release in which he cautioned party leaders against bickering, attacks, abuses on the floor of Parliament over the election of the Speaker.

Earlier, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa had faced off in Parliament. Kadaga accused Ms Nankabirwa of importing issues of NRM’s Central Executive Committee into the discussion on matters that are internal to Parliament. “I don’t think CEC has a right to bind a future Parliament before they are even elected. That is totally undemocratic. Stop talking about CEC here”.

In the meeting at the State House, Hajj Kigongo told the President that he asked those who were dragging CEC in the Speaker race politics to stop it and even advised that democracy be exercised “reasonably while conducting matters of national importance.”

As soon as Hajj Kigongo ended his preliminary remarks, sources who attended the meeting said the President confronted aspirants for Speaker and Deputy Speaker before he banned campaigns. He spoke for about 30 minutes uninterrupted and warned those undermining NRM to stop it immediately.

Sources in the meeting said the President reiterated that there must be no further campaigns for Speaker and Deputy until such a time when the Chief Justice will congregate in Parliament at her first sitting on May 20.

“The President threatened that CEC may even leave all of us and choose other NRM candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker” another source said.

The NRM chairperson accused Ms Kadaga, her Deputy Jacob Oulanyah and other six NRM MPs eyeing the Deputy Speaker of undermining the party structures and behaving as if they are bigger than the party. The President made it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate indiscipline.

It was a stormy meeting filled with “fear” and few chances of rebuttal as President Museveni pulled the plug on what had become a conflict-ridden campaign for who will get the endorsement of the ruling NRM to run for Speaker of the 11th Parliament.

After lecturing aspirants on discipline and party structures, the President started asking questions. First, he demanded to know whether Ms Kadaga consulted NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba before she went to Speke Resort Munyonyo to launch her re-election campaign. Ms Lumumba then shot up and denied knowledge of the pre-campaign launch plans.

Ms Lumumba told the President that she also learnt of the launch from the media. The President turned to Ms Kadaga and asked her to explain why she didn’t consult the party and whether she is above the law. He also asked whether in 2016, she first launched her campaign before coming to CEC for endorsement.

The President paused a bit and requested Hajj Kigongo to remind him about what Ms Kadaga told CEC in 2016. Hajj Kigongo told the President that she requested a second term to complete the 10 years just like Edward Ssekandi (2001-2011).