The Lwemiyaga County parliamentary debate on NBS TV turned heated on Wednesday night as NRM flagbearer Emmanuel Rwashande and incumbent MP Theodore Ssekikubo clashed over the constituency's handling of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), service delivery, and the broader question of leadership style.
Rwashande, who recently retired from the UPDF, launched one of the debate's strongest attacks, accusing Ssekikubo of sabotaging government programmes and prolonging the FMD crisis that crippled Lwemiyaga's livestock markets.
"I have just retired from the army where I have been fighting for the peace of this country," Rwashande said.
"Now I want to fight for the peace and progress of Lwemiyaga."
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He argued that Ssekikubo frustrated key government interventions designed to assist farmers, claiming the MP's actions contributed directly to the prolonged closure of animal markets.
Rwashande went further, arguing that there was no active FMD outbreak in Lwemiyaga at the time markets were shut.
"There was no FMD as a disease. The disease was our MP and his money," he said.
"When I came in, I went to the Minister of Agriculture and explained that there was no FMD. That is how the animal markets were finally reopened."
The comments provoked mixed reactions from the audience, with some accusing the NRM candidate of oversimplifying a disease that had affected neighbouring parts of Sembabule.
Still, Rwashande insisted that farmers suffered as a result of political battles rather than veterinary realities.
Ssekikubo, who has represented Lwemiyaga since 2001, dismissed the allegations as misguided and defended both his parliamentary record and his handling of the FMD episode.
He insisted that the constituency was now free of the disease because of effective government intervention.
"There is no FMD in Lwemiyaga. It was suppressed and eliminated," Ssekikubo said.
"I must thank government for taking a deliberate decision in vaccinating our herds."
He also questioned the credibility of some of his opponents, suggesting that at least one of the candidates on stage should not have been nominated due to what he called academic and signature irregularities
"I come here knowing these are my colleagues in the race, but the country is aware that one of us shouldn't be here for lack of academic qualifications and failure to get the required signatures for nomination," he said, without naming the candidate.
Ssekikubo further accused some rivals of presenting themselves as government officials rather than parliamentary aspirants.
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"Are we speaking as candidates for MP or as government?" he asked. "I'm hearing people here speaking as though they have a government manifesto."
Reasserting his two-decade parliamentary experience, Ssekikubo said his primary duty had always been to legislate and that he had delivered on that mandate.
"An MP's role first of all is to legislate, and I have been a good legislator. I have done my part," he said.
"I want to continue on the gains we have achieved and continue to deliver on my basic roles as a Member of Parliament."
He also reminded NRM's Rwashande of the principles of multiparty democracy.
"Since 2006, we have been under multiparty rule. We follow the party manifesto," he said.
"Rwashande should wake up. As he aspires to be MP, I hope he doesn't carry in his bag a personal manifesto."
The debate, which also featured Unicent Ainebyona (DF) and Migadde Juugu Amooti (Independent), exposed deep divisions over education, stalled infrastructure, veterinary services, and leadership style.
Analysts say Lwemiyaga is heading into one of its most competitive races in years, with Ssekikubo facing growing pressure from a new generation of challengers demanding a shift in how the constituency is governed..
