New details have emerged as to why the Democratic Party (DP) Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson Kennedy Mutenyo was relieved of his duties.
Mutenyo’s roles were withdrawn by the secretary general Gerald Siranda in the Friday January 2, 2026, meeting that had been convened at the party head offices along Balintuma road in Kampala, to discuss the usual election committee member affairs relating to the facilitation of electoral activities for DP candidates on parliamentary and local government seats in the January 15, 2026 elections, according to the highly placed sources.
Insiders say that Mutenyo in one of their election committee meetings in December, questioned the circumstances under which some financial appropriations were being made to some candidates, not knowing that he was stepping on a live wire.
Classification of the said allocations was being engineered by the organizing secretary Herbert Rutagwera, one of the election committee members, but also a close confidant of the secretary general Gerald Siranda, according to sources.
Another close confidant of Siranda is Martin Wakooli the party’s cashier who claims to be a certified accountant doing the party’s audit work, according to sources.
Insiders say that when an independent minded Mutenyo raised a querry in one of their meetings, Siranda who was attending via zoom was quick to remind him that he is the one who had assigned him the DP EC boss role, a sign for him to slow down his pace, but he did not incidentally.
Sources allege that Siranda usually attends meetings via zoom, is not feeling safe and secure to sit next to his fellow leaders, so is his fellow leaders in the physical meetings.
Insiders say that when Mutenyo was reminded of how he became the DP EC boss, he credited Siranda for having recruited him for the job, but told him off never to lecture him on how to do his work.
The next action according to insiders was Siranda to hand over a termination letter to Mutenyo in a physical meeting, one of a selected few that he rarely attended.
Another thing that caused Mutenyo trouble according to insiders, was his constant request for his financial payment ranging between 8- 9 million from the DP big powers, as a thank you for the work that he had done for them during the controversial May- June 2025, Delegates Conference (DC), held at Asama Hotel in Mbarara.
In response according to insiders, Mutenyo was instead served with a termination letter by Siranda, commending his good service during his tenure, which some DP members call a gesture done in bad faith.
Insiders say that Mutenyo was assigned the DP EC chairperson role ahead of the 2020 DP DC held in Gulu city after when some party NEC members faulted the party’s secretariat for letting the cashier Wakooli to be an internal election manager as well, which was bringing the party into disrepute.
Mutenyo’s termination according to insiders means that Wakooli who has faced multiple claims of financial mismanagement in the interest of some big powers in the party, will now swim scot free.
Earlier, when he was reached out for a comment, Mutenyo denied knowledge of the reported sacking, saying he was not aware. “I am not aware of the development you are referring to. Please share with me any such evidence of the same”, He replied.
Whether the designation of Mutenyo’s scrapped election management role was constitutionally informed so is his removal or not, is a matter to be closely followed up.
