Richard Todwong, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party Secretary General has admitted fronting Independent candidate Acire Julius Labeja Gunya against the official party candidate Alfred Okwonga for the city mayoral race.
Todwong made the remarks during NRM victory celebrations in Gulu City, where he was explaining why the party’s candidate for the mayoral position, Alfred Okwonga, lost to Julius Acire Labeja, popularly known as Gunya, an independent NRM-leaning candidate.
Todwong said Okwonga was unsure about which position he wanted to contest. He added that, as Secretary General, he opted to support Labeja, who had previously served as his political assistant when he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in 2012. He further stated that Okwonga, who went through the NRM primary elections unopposed, later wrote to him seeking to change his candidature from Mayor to Member of Parliament—a request he did not respond to.
However, during a press conference following the Local Government election results on January 24, 2026, Okwonga expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, blaming party leaders for his loss. He said that upon learning that some party leaders—including Todwong—were not supporting him, he wrote to both the NRM Secretariat and the Electoral Commission requesting to step down from the race, although his request was not granted by either institution.
Okwonga’s case was not isolated. Several NRM members in Gulu City openly supported opposition and independent candidates based on personal preference, arguing that they were voting for competence rather than party affiliation.
Gunya has since officially joined the NRM after emerging victorious as Gulu City Mayor-elect. He defeated five other candidates, polling 12,281 votes.
Okwonga came second with 9,586 votes. Other independent candidates included Obonyo Marc Anthony with 1,023 votes, Okello Jonathan Snoop with 443 votes, Okello Denis Oweka with 340 votes, and Obonyo Patrick Wokorach with 67 votes.
