Soroti Tycoon Moves to Unseat Mukula from NRM Vice Chairman Role

David Calvin Echodu, a journalist, social entrepreneur, and community development advocate, has officially declared his intention to challenge Capt. Mike Mukula for the position of National Resistance Movement (NRM) Vice Chairperson for Eastern Uganda in the forthcoming party elections.

Echodu, who previously contested as the NRM flag bearer for the Soroti City West Division parliamentary seat in 2021, lost to Jonathan Ebwalu, an independent candidate now affiliated with the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). According to Echodu, he will simultaneously pursue the NRM Eastern Region vice chairmanship while maintaining interest in the Soroti City West Division seat ahead of the 2026 general elections.

On his X-handle, Echodu says that his decision was made from a deep belief and conviction that the Eastern Region deserves bold, people-centered  leadership that listens, acts, and delivers. “As someone who has worked at the grassroots — telling the stories of our people and building solutions from the ground up — I have seen first-hand what’s possible when we center communities in decision-making,” his X-handle reads in part.

Echodu is the Founder and Executive Director of Pilgrim Uganda, a multi-faceted not-for-profit organization serving the people most vulnerable in Uganda. He is also the CEO of EarthWise Ferries Uganda Limited (EarthWise), a Uganda-based company that provides ferry service on the waterways of East Africa.

Ambassador Nelson Ocheger, one of the key supporters of Echodu’s political aspirations for the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) position says that Echodu has been at the front in the NRM mobilization in all the elections, adding his contributions have, however, been ridden on by the opportunists that he declined to mention.

“Despite the star performance of the NRM chairman, there are emerging threats within the ranks and files in the party. The pursuit of personal gains, fear for internal competition, intolerance, corruption, ineptitude in the propagation of party ideals and principles, and voters’ apathy, among others, have all combined to threaten the NRM’s standing,” Ocheger said during Echodu’s meeting with key NRM mobilizers in Kampala.

Ocheger says that Echodu’s decision to vie for the NRM CEC position communicates the need to reverse the threats in the party.

Born in Tubur Sub-County, Soroti District, Echodu has been living overseas for work and business ventures. He says that his ambition to serve at the helm of the ruling party’s organ will bring new energy and better services to the country.

Echodu is backed by the Soroti NRM Chairman, Charles Elasu, and the NRM’s mobilizer for Teso sub-region, Teddy Acha, among other key NRM mobilizers in the region. The NRM political and electoral roadmap for 2025/2026 begins on April 24, 2025, with the expression of interest and nomination for party structure elections at the village level and LC1 Chairperson.