The Minister of Trade and Industry, Amelia Kyambadde has suspended the elections for the new leadership of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The minister is expected to make known of this unprecedented decision tomorrow Wednesday at a press conference in Kampala.
The elections for the new leadership at Chamber of commerce were concernedly gaining a lot of momentum, with city businessman and writer Andrew Rugasira mustering everything at his disposal to dislodge the incumbent president, Mrs Olive Kigongo.
The decision to suspend the elections comes on the heels of reports that Mr Rugasira has been moving around the country mobilizing business association heads against Mrs. Kigongo.
His campaign is premised on accusations that Kigongo had led to among others the collapse of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda.
The Good African Coffee proprietor had so far brought together a powerful campaign team to lead him to the helm of the Chamber of Commerce.
Rugasira (2nd Right) with some of his campaign team members
Among these was senior journalist and analyst Andrew Mwenda, Tycoon Patrick Bitature, NBS’s Kin Kariisa, Lead Tourism Entrepreneur Amos Wekesa, Makerere’s top economist Augustine Niwagaba, among others.
The development also follows reports that Mrs Kigongo personally petitioned President Yoweri Museveni to throw his weight behind her, to ensure that she retains the seat.
Asked Tuesday evening to comment on the impeding suspension of the election, Mr Andrew Rugasira declined to comment saying this was “not a good time.”