Category: Daily Monitor

In 2021, when the National Resistance Movement (NRM) polled 35.91 per cent in the national vote, no one could have anticipated a performance in the next election cycle that would garner 49.25 per cent.

‘The losses suffered by the NRM party in Buganda Sub-region in 2021 during the election cycle were big, but we quickly diagnosed the problem by first of all accepting the defeat,’ Ms Rose Namayanja Nsereko, the ruling party’s deputy secretary general and a key architect of the ‘Buganda for Museveni’ campaign strategy, told Saturday Monitor. ‘The truth was that voters had issues that partly informed their decision to deny us the vote on top of the Opposition propaganda machinery of the time,’ she added.

The improvement by nearly 14 percentage points in the bastion of the National Unity Platform (NUP) was down to, reckons Ms Namayanja, a change of tack. For the first time in the history of the NRM, the party did not seek the services of an appointed national taskforce for the 2026 campaign but instead went for a grassroots mobilisation strategy. Planting its roots in villages, the teams that were stitched together had non-candidates, including ex officio members, former Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) from the respective areas and party cadres. ‘We are talking about more than 300 people actively mobilising for the NRM party at the grassroots in a particular area.

These people had earlier been briefed about the service delivery programme and were equipped with the right messages as feedback to the voters, but we also had the Parish Development Model (PDM) as a magic bullet,’ Ms Namayanja revealed. The ruling party also managed to hit the jackpot by convincing a number of Independents aligned to it to step down in favour of NRM flagbearers in Buganda. As many as 128 Independents stepped down following the intervention of Yoweri Museveni, the party chairperson. This was further augmented by the palpable divisions within the Opposition’s ranks, per Mr Godfrey Kiwanda Ssubi, the former NRM party national vice chairperson for Central Region.

No pandemic blues

Mr Kiwanda, a key party national mobiliser for Buganda region, added: ‘We swallowed our pride as the top party, and went back to the drawing board to identify the key challenges that possibly affected the NRM party performance in 2021.’ Among the key issues that rocked the NRM, noted Mr Kiwanda, were ‘the rampant land evictions and land grabbing, poverty-related changes.’ The panacea to those, heading into the 2026 poll, was ‘the PDM, Emyooga, among other wealth creation programmes.’

‘Unlike the 2021 General Election cycle where the country was fighting the Covid-19 pandemic-related challenges, including the lockdown that angered a big percentage of the citizens, the year 2026 has been different,’ Mr Kiwanda reasoned. As the country’s business arm, Buganda was bound to be imperilled by the pandemic curbs. Residents of Buganda, Mr Kiwanda further offered, had no other way to vent their anger than to vote against the sitting government for the restrictions and the attendant impacts.

‘Many people who lost their respective businesses turned their anger against the government and the ruling NRM party. There is a possibility the angered population carried their frustration to their respective polling stations with an aim of voting out the NRM government,’ Mr Kiwanda told the Saturday Monitor, banking largely on anecdotal evidence that this publication could not independently verify.

Youth factor?

Sheikh Kassim Kamigisha, a former Resident City Commissioner (RCC) attached to Nakawa Division and Member of the Patriotic League of Uganda, believes that NRM party has since evolved into a stronger and focused political party. He added that it has managed to adapt to the country’s pro-active youthful population. ‘In 2021, the NRM party did not have an active youth wing, a factor that had previously left the youthful population almost lost. When we talk about Buganda and the other urban areas, the NRM party has brought on board the youth with strong structures at different levels.

The youth have clearly grasped the well packaged message on the skilling programme with the assurance that they can become entrepreneurs and self-employed.’ But Mr Peter Kahindi, a lawyer, public policy analyst, believes that the NRM party of 2021 is possibly not the more vibrant and pro-active party that has realised that the voters have real genuine issues that need to be resolved. When you figure out the ‘Buganda for Museveni’ arrangement that brought together different stakeholders to explain the different government programmes and respond to the emerging issues, the voters felt their unanswered questions had finally got to the right people, he told Saturday Monitor.

‘When you allow the village based structures to freely engage with the voters from their respective areas, the people will freely air out their concerns and perhaps get to find the solutions. For the service delivery programs, the respective local government officials are put to task to explain the service delivery gap and possibly get to the solution. This created a big impact. The fact that the NRM party learnt how to build cohesion and work as a team worked against the Opposition,’ he said.

Opposition reacts

Mr Denis Ssekabira, the Member of Parliament for Katikamu North Constituency in Luweero District, however, is quick to dismiss the alleged NRM party gains. He told Saturday Monitor that the ruling party has failed to differentiate between the government programmes and the party activities. This, he adds, is to the disadvantage of the vulnerable population. ‘When they the government through the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries recently procured the hand hoes to be distributed to the different households under the District Local government structures, the programme was hijacked by the NRM party. The hoes ended up in the hands of the NRM candidates as campaign tools for vote hunting.

This is unfortunate,’ he opined. Ms Catherine Nabawanuka, a resident of Bombo Town Council in Luweero District, attributed the ruling party’s success to luck. She agreed with Mr Kiwanda’s observation that Opposition political parties, mostly NUP, have become disorganised and do not have leadership units in place to handle internal disunity in a more mature manner. ‘I don’t believe that the NRM has really worked hard as far as service delivery is concerned, but we have a weak Opposition. Some of the voters in the Luweero now believe that the Opposition has no future and have turned back to the NRM party. We have patiently tested the Opposition but the results are not any better. It is better to rely on the government side,’ she told the Saturday Monitor.

The 2026 gains Yet the inroads the NRM has made cannot be contested. In 2021, NUP, the leading Opposition party, swept the three legislative positions for Bukomansimbi District. But the 2026 General Election saw the ruling party win the three seats back, including that of the District Woman Representative (DWR), Bukomansimbi South and Bukomansimbi North. In Nakaseke District, the NRM party took the Nakaseke South and Nakaseke Central seats that had been in the hands of NUP. Ms Namayanja said the NRM party strategic mobilisation is not only reflected in the number of MPs that the party has gained in Buganda but that the rise in the voter percentage is a clear indication that the party is ‘a people’s party.’

While the NRM party struggled to get Members of Parliament in the Kampala area, with all the positions falling back to the Opposition in 2021, the 2026 election cycle brought slightly better dividends. ‘We have three Parliament seats in Kampala and we expect to harvest more leadership positions. The people of Kampala are rejecting the Opposition lies, long fed to the population,’ Ms Rosemary Sseninde, who is in charge of national mobilisation at the NRM secretariat, told the Saturday Monitor.

She discloses that some of the strategies employed included engaging the voters using the village based committees. The party’s youth mobilisation drive hit the bullseye as did the PDM. In Buganda, 514,000 households had by December 2025 accessed the PDM funds through their respective Saccos. The land related challenges have reportedly been given a priority through the different offices. The Opposition, however, says that, with anecdotal evidence pointing to many bribery and intimidation cases, there is more than meets the eye.

There are half a dozen traditional practices from Uganda that are inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Last year, the practices were the first National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) exhibition.

What are the practices?

They include: Bigwala gourd trumpet music and dance; barkcloth making; male child cleansing ritual; the Koogere oral tradition; the Madi bowl lyre instrument and music; and the Empaako naming system. Bigwala gourd trumpet music and dance is special because it is a royal musical heritage of the Basoga, performed during installation ceremonies and symbolising unity and authority. A set of five or more monotone gourd trumpets are blown in combination, accompanied by drum players, singers and dancers. Song lyrics narrate the history of the Basoga, focusing in particular on their king. The five gourd trumpets are: empla, enana, endasasi, endesi, and endumilizi.

‘These trumpets represent Busoga royal music. Today, the music is performed at royal events, weddings and many others. These five trumpets represent the different sounds of this music from the endumilizi with the lowest sound to the empla with the highest sound,’ Mr John Lugolole, chairman of the Bigwala Cultural Group based in Namalemba Sub-county, Bugweri District in eastern Uganda, tells Saturday Monitor. He adds:’Our biggest challenge we are facing is that when we plant the gourds they are attacked by pests when they are at the flowering stage. We are getting rid of the pests by spraying pesticides on the plants.’

What is bark cloth making?

This centuries-old practice of crafting cloth from the Mutuba tree (Ficus natalensis/Fig tree) is deeply embedded in Buganda’s rituals and artistic expression. ‘We use the knife (omwambe) to carefully harvest the outer bark of the Mutuba tree. The banana stalk (omuzingonyo) is then used to remove the bark so as not to damage it. We then cover the tree with banana leafs to protect it from the sun or rain for three days,’ Mr Thomas Lubega, the head of the cultural and tourism office in Mutuba Mukaga, says. He adds: ‘The top of the outer bark is removed. We may then boil the bark to get the best bark cloth. We then embark on the process of gently beating the inner bark with grooved mallets known as omukomagiro and ensaamo to make it thin and flexible.’

The material is dried and later decorated, ready to be used for cloth and various purposes.

‘We you start this process of making bark cloth in your home, some members of the public falsely perceive it as a religious shrine. Bark cloth making is not satanic at all. Today, bark cloth is expensive, and it is used to make handicrafts, modern garments, and traditional ceremonies,’ Mr Lubega clarifies. He adds: ‘Our biggest challenge today is that the Mutuba or Emituba trees are scarce. The trees do not have a market so people cut them down for firewood and burning charcoal.’

What does the male child cleansing ritual entail?

A practice among the Lango people in northern Uganda, the ritual cleanses young males, marking their transition to adulthood. ‘This ritual is the cleansing ceremony for the boy child whose genitals were accidentally touched by his mother while still in house immediately after birth which rendered him impotent,’ Mr Benjamin Okii, the leader of Okii-Bua Clan in Lango, discloses. He adds:’Tradition dictates that when a boy is born he should be kept in the house for three days before being brought out in the sunshine. Within those three days the mother has to be careful not to touch the genitals of the boy. Otherwise, the boy may be rendered impotent.’

Traditional shoes made from buffalo or cow hides known as waro are worn. Today, Mr Okii reveals, ‘the shoes are made from car tyres’. He also discloses that the odero (winnower) is used to cover the head of the boy and mother when they are coming out of the house to ease themselves during the three days of the ceremony. The gwata (calabash) is used for eating food and drinking water. The tol kworo (rope from the Kwoto tree) is tied around the hands of the boy.

‘We used to tie the umbilical cord around the hands of the boy in the past, now we use the tol kworo rope.’ There was the nyig itodi necklace made from the seeds of the itodi wild banana species tree. ‘The seeds represent the boy who is a human seed, and he should flourish in life. The necklace is dressed around the neck of the boy while in the house for three days,’ Mr Okii notes.

What about the Koogere oral tradition? It’s a cycle of narratives from the Basongora, Banyabindi, and Batooro communities of western Uganda, celebrating female leadership, wisdom, and moral values. At last year’s maiden National ICH exhibition, the artefacts were presented by the Kagore Community Museum under the Kogere Foundation Uganda (KFU) in Fort Portal City. They included: ekyanzi, ebisayi, engata, akaibo k’owwani, , entebe, and omukeeka, among others. The foundation derives its name from Koogere Rusiijamiryango Atwooki, a renowned female leader in pre-colonial Bunyoro-Tooro history.

Appointed as county chief of Busongora, she exemplified leadership, hard work, and peace, leaving a lasting legacy in the region. KFU continues to promote cultural preservation and community empowerment. It is dedicated to safeguarding and harnessing cultural resources, both tangible and intangible for development. The Curator of the Kagore Community Museum, Ms Gertrude Kabaganda, says: ‘Koogere was the first female Saza Chief of Busongora. She was the first female leader 1,500 years ago. She was so famous and ruled from Busongora up to Bukedea in eastern Uganda, stretching to Ituri in Democratic Republic of Congo and Karagwe in Tanzania. What we are displaying are cow hides and milk items because Koogere was very wealthy with a lot of cattle.’

What makes the Madi bowl lyre instrument and music noteworthy?

It’s an emotive, poetic musical form among the Madi people of West Nile, often played in communal gatherings to pass down wisdom and cultural memory. The Manager of the Madi Community Museum, Mr Jonathan Agwe Aliko, says the odi (bowl lyre) is normally played during the naming ceremonies, traditional marriages, good harvest celebrations, and political rallies. ‘The tumi-aco (traditional hoe) is used to clean around our traditional altar. A three-legged stone called tumi. This hoe is among the items for bride price,’ Mr Aliko tells Saturday Monitor.

The utu traditional sieve is used for making traditional brew. The ebu (iron ore) is used to make traditional hoes. The biri traditional music instrument is used during the Mure traditional dance. The aula is worn on the left hand when performing the Mure. ‘The Mure is a very important dance through which the Madi can be identified. The dance is used to pass on important messages. It is also performed after the burial of an elder of 70 years and above,’ Mr Aliko further reveals.

What about the Empaako naming system?

According to Engabu Za Tooro (Tooro Youth Platform for Action), Empaako is a naming system whereby children are given a special name called Empaako from among the twelve names shared across the communities of the Batooro, Banyoro, Batagwenda, Batuku and Banyabindi found in Western Uganda in addition to their given and family names. The Empaako include Okaali that is reserved for a king, Apuuli, Araali, Bbala and Acaali exclusively for men while Akiiki, Adyeri, Amooti, Ateenyi, Atwoki, Abbooki and Abwoli are shared among both sexes. Addressing a person by his or her Empaako name is a positive affirmation of social ties.

Engabu Za Tooro says Empaako plays the following three important roles in one’s life; (1) Greeting. In greeting, the two address each other using Empaako. One asks Empaako only on first interaction. (2) Neutralising anger and tension. Greeting or addressing by Empaako to a person one is in conflict with, sends strong message of compromise, peace and reconciliation. The members of the bearer communities believe that Empaako mysteriously evaporates from the memory of the two people whose relationship gets strained, only to be recovered at reconciliation.

(3) A form of address in all positively subjective conditions of human interactions like; expressing respect and honour to a parent, an elder, a leader, spirit medium and gods; expressing affection to a companion, a lover, a tender minor, a sick or suffering, a missed or dead dear one; appealing for favour from human or superhuman powers; and expressing thanks and bidding farewell. Therefore, while Empaako is given along with surname, the two serve completely different roles. The surname is only for official and impersonal address.

Are the cultural practices still alive and well in Uganda?

According to the Uganda Community Museums Association (UCOMA), once thriving and widespread, many of these traditions had reached near extinction, surviving only through a few remaining knowledge bearers. As a result of the safeguarding efforts supported by Unesco, these elements are being revitalised, though they remain fragile and not widely understood by the wider public.

Does Uganda pride in any other significant but non-inscribed practices?

Yes, it does. From the Bagisu of eastern Uganda there is the Imbalu male initiation rite as well as their indigenous food preparation (Malewa), traditional governance, and worship systems. Amongst the Baganda in central Uganda there are drum-making processes, clan systems, and spiritual beliefs.

Elsewhere, from the Kigezi highlands the best bits include: music and dance traditions like Ekizino and Kakitaari, local beer-making, and healing practices.

National Unity Platform (NUP) president, Robert Kyagulanyi’s wife, Barbra Itungo Kyagulanyi, is admitted after she was reportedly assaulted by military officers who raided his home in Magere, Wakiso District last night.

Detailing events of the Friday night raid, Mr Kyagulanyi, who is currently in hiding, said on Saturday afternoon that the intruders, whom he claimed were in hundreds, broke doors and forced themselves into his house, hit walls, window glasses, and doors using the hammer before ransacking the house as they searched for him.

‘Most were dressed in SFC uniforms, while others were in regular UPDF uniforms and others in plain clothes. Many of them were drunk. They came with ladders, ready to climb upstairs. They broke down our doors and forced themselves into our house. Using hammers, they hit walls, window glass, and doors. They put my wife at gunpoint, asking her to reveal my whereabouts. They stole money, numerous valuable documents, and all electronic gadgets. They took phones, laptops, chargers, our internet system, our CCTV system, speakers, and any electronic gadget they could lay their criminal hands on,’ Mr Kyagulanyi who contests the results of the January 15, 2026 General Election, posted on X.

Following the tense election marred by arrests of opposition supporters and polling agents, President Museveni was declared the winner with 71.65 per cent of the votes cast, while Mr Kyagulanyi came second with 24.72 per cent. The musician turned politician escaped from his home on January 16 following a night raid by the military, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

In the second such operation, Mr Kyagulanyi said the soldiers entered every part of his house, including the ceiling.

‘They grabbed my wife’s phone, forced her to sit down, and ordered her to remove her password. She refused. They strangled her and insulted her. They forcefully removed her blouse and took pictures! Speaking Runyakore, they asked why she would get married to a muganda, and why we would dare challenge Museveni. They beat up our askari (security guard) and housemaid. They ordered the askari to show them where the basement is, where I was hiding. These criminals asked where my children were! My wife was rushed to the hospital where she remains admitted, dealing with all the physical and psychological trauma. Yet in all this, we remain firm in our belief that Uganda will be free,’ he said.

Neighbours reported seeing several military cars snake through the neighbourhood as they made their way to Mr Kyagulanyi’s home at around 10 pm.

‘There were several heavily armed soldiers, mostly from the elite Special Forces Command, aboard the military vehicles. Most of them wore face masks. There were also others in civilian clothing but heavily armed. There were about eight vehicles. Most of the military cars didn’t have license plates,’ one of the neighbours said.

The development comes amid an intensified security crackdown on the opposition following the disputed January 15, 2026, polls in which Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party was declared the winner with 7,946,772 votes cast.

Mr Kyagulanyi, who was declared second with 2,741,238 votes, said several of his supporters have been killed or arrested by the military and police following the elections.

He and other opposition members rejected the results as “fake,” citing allegations of massive ballot stuffing and intimidation.

President Museveni’s son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who acts as the country’s military chief, said on Friday that authorities had detained 2,000 opposition supporters, killed 30, and were hunting for more following the elections in which his father won a seventh term.

Mr Museveni, 81, has led Uganda for nearly four decades. He was declared to have resoundingly defeated Mr Kyagulanyi in the January 15 polls, held during an internet blackout.

In a series of overnight social media posts, Gen Muhoozi gave the first details of the arrests and killings of NUP supporters, describing them as hooligans and terrorists.

“So far we have killed 30 NUP terrorists,” Gen Muhoozi said on X, without explaining the circumstances of the deaths. “Most NUP terrorist leaders are in hiding. We shall get them all,” he said in another post.

The government has accused Kyagulanyi’s supporters of violence during the election, while the opposition says its members were attacked by security forces. Some of the detainees were NUP polling agents, either picked at polling stations where they were deployed or at their homes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern on Thursday over the arrests and violence involving opposition figures and supporters.

“He (the Secretary General) notes the importance of restraint by all actors and respect for the rule of law and Uganda’s international human rights obligations,” his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Mr Kyagulanyi, who is in hiding after he escaped from his home following a January 16 night raid by the military, has alleged that hundreds of his supporters have been illegally detained in recent months for their political affiliation, and accused authorities of intimidation.

Uganda’s opposition parties and rights activists say some of those arrested are held in unofficial detention centres where some are tortured.

The crackdown intensified with the detention of Muwanga Kivumbi, a lawmaker and Mr Kyagulanyi’s deputy in charge of the Buganda region.

Two other senior NUP figures have been reported missing for days. They are: Dr Lina Zedriga Waru (Deputy President for Northern Uganda), who was reportedly abducted by security forces from her home on January 15, 2026 (Election Day). Her exact whereabouts remain “shrouded in mystery,” with security forces neither confirming nor denying her custody.

Ms Jolly Jacklyn Tukamushaba (Deputy President for Western Uganda) was reportedly arrested or abducted in Rukiga District on the eve of the elections (January 14, 2026). Like Zedriga, she has reportedly been held for over a week without being formally charged or arraigned.

On Friday, Mr Kivumbi appeared in court in Butambala to be charged with terrorism. He was remanded in custody until February 3.

Mr Kyagulanyi, 43, has said he fled his residence after a raid by security personnel shortly after the election.

Mr Museveni is widely believed to be grooming Muhoozi, who has expressed presidential ambitions, as his successor.

The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Tororo has deferred the vote recount for the Tororo district woman Member of Parliament seat to January 27, citing concerns over ballot box tampering.

The court discovered that two ballot boxes had broken seals, while five others had open spaces on the sides, raising suspicions of evidence tampering.

The recount was ordered after Sarah Achieng Opendi (NRM), the first runner-up, disputed the January 15 election results, where she lost to independent candidate Angella Akoth by a narrow margin of 35 votes. Opendi polled 78,507 votes, while Akoth secured 78,542 votes.

During the court hearing, lawyers representing Akoth requested the court to disregard the recount, citing evidence of tampering.

“We have inspected the boxes and found out that two of them have had their seals broken while others have allowances that permits a paper to be inserted… we ask court to disregard the order and allow Electoral Commission to go ahead to gazette my client Akoth in the Uganda gazette as MP elect for Tororo district woman MP electoral area,” said Ms Messiecars Ssekyewa Matovu, Akoth’s lawyer.

However, Opendi’s lawyer, Humphrey Tumwesigye, argued that the claims were baseless assumptions.

“We accept that the two boxes had their seals broken while the five others have allowances which to me could have been created during loading and offloading that must not be counted as an excuse to deny justice to my client,” he said.

Chief Magistrate Irene Nanteby will rule on January 27 whether to continue with the recount or disregard the earlier order.

Opendi’s petition alleges numerical errors at Kanang Church of Uganda polling station and omission of results from 10 polling stations, including Kidoko Central, Papakol Central, Kipangor, Bolimoo trading centre, Ticaf Mosque, Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Bunganga, Nyambulie, Kainja, and Aturukuku Primary School polling stations.

The court had ordered the recount on January 23, and the process was set to take place on January 24.

A police nurse was charged and prosecuted for administering, under suspicious circumstances, an injection on April 17, 2019, to a two year old child. The nurse was alone with the child and out of the mother’s view when the injection was administered on the left arm of the child.

The nurse quickly threw away the needle and syringe, arousing a lot of suspicion. The nurse was found guilty of the offence of common assault and paid a fine of Shs2m as well as compensation to the mother of the child of another Shs2m.

The mother of the child, however, sued the nurse and the Attorney General in the Civil Division of the High Court for battery and medical negligence and sort special and general damages and compensation for unlawful injury and body pain.

She asked for special damages of Shs2.5m as expenses incurred on treatment and welfare of the child at various health facilities as well as punitive damages of Uganda Shillings fifty million and interest on court awards and costs of the suit.

The Attorney General and the nurse denied the claims of the mother of the child and argued that the mother of the child was not entitled to any damages since the nurse had already paid her compensation of Uganda Shillings two million as directed by the Chief Magistrate, at the conclusion of the criminal case.

Special damages refer to past expenses and loss of earnings and are given for losses that are not presumed but are specifically proved. These are damages or losses that can be quantified such as out of pocket expenses or earnings lost during the period of the injury and the hearing of the action and are capable of being calculated more or less precisely.

Special damages relate to the past pecuniary loss calculated at the date of trial. It is distinguished from general damages which relates to all other items of damage whether pecuniary or non-pecuniary. It is settled law that special damages must be asked for and strictly proved although they need not be supported by documentary evidence in all cases as cogent evidence can do.

Special damages must be specifically asked for at the beginning of a case and this helps to avoid surprise claims at the trial. During the trial it must be proved by evidence that the loss was incurred and that it was the direct result of the wrong occasioned.

Matters pertaining to hospitalisation, treatment and medical management, the need for further medical care, the disabilities, and pecuniary losses all fall under special damages.

In the instant case, the mother of the child asked for Shs2.5m. The mother, during the trial, testified that the child was examined at a clinic on 20th May, 2019 but did not state that she spent some money in the clinic nor did she produce any receipts. On June 24, 2019, the child was taken to hospital and examined but there was no indication that some money was paid.

The blood of the child was taken and examined and a report was prepared. The report was faint and ineligible and the cost of the laboratory examination was not indicated. Court had no evidence to award these costs.

An ultra-sound scan of the abdomen was also carried out around the same time and the results presented in court and the mother of the child explained to court that she paid Shs50,000 only. Court believed her and allowed the claim.

Court also considered two other claims of Shs3,000 and Shs25,000 spent in the same facility on June 24, 2019 and allowed these claims as they were supported by documentary evidence. Court considered another claim of Shs10,000 dated May 10, 2019 that was paid for a blood test at a laboratory, for which there was a receipt. To court the claim was proven and allowed.

The mother of the child also presented to court a document dated June 3, of an unknown year when she paid Shs5,000 as part of her claims for special damages. The purpose of this payment was not explained to court and for this reason court rejected this particular claim.

Court also rejected another claim of a medical consultation of Shs2,000 that was incurred on October 20,2021, two years after the incidence complained of. To court it was not clear how this consultation was related to the incidence before court.

The mother of the child testified that her child was admitted to the Regional Referral Hospital and during the admission she told court that she spend Shs200,000 on drugs that she purchased from an outside facility. Court observed that there was no documentary proof of medical admission at the said facility.

To court there should always be documentary proof of medical admission in form of medical records, unless something happened to the record. In this case no explanation was proffered. There was also no proof of the purchase of drugs. This claim was, accordingly, disallowed.

The mother made a further claim of Shs140,000 spent on motor cycle transport and food for the child and a further Shs500,000 as cost of public transport that she incurred in traveling a distance of a hundred kilometers from her village to the various health units. To court the Shs140,000 was believable and awarded as the child had to move with her mother for medical tests and other treatment.

Although there were no receipts, court did not expect that receipts for transport expenses, especially by the common motor cycles, which was the mother’s main means of transport for short distances, would be issued.

It was apparent that the mother of the child did not continue to stay in the Police Barracks where the incident occurred. Court reasoned that the mother of the child had to commute to follow up on the child’s medical care and treatment. In the circumstances court considered the awarded of Shs300,000 as reasonable in the circumstances.

The mother of the child also put in a claim of Shs1.5m used to facilitate her and other witnesses during the criminal trial at the Chief Magistrate’s Court. According to court, this expense was not proved and therefore extraneous. In any case, judgment was given on September 13, 2019, implying that the criminal case was not protracted. Court, therefore ended up awarding special damages amounting to Shs586, 000 in this case.

Excitement is brewing among electorates, especially youth, as Soroti residents have bestowed trust in a 34-year-old man to steer the district local government’s topmost political seat, the Local Council Five (LCV) seat.

The NRM party’s youthful candidate, whose campaign centred on accountability, transparency, inclusion, and effective service delivery to the people across his electoral area, was declared winner of the LCV seat on Saturday at 1:00PM by EC officials at the tally center operated in Oculoi Sub County, Soroti District.

Mr Bob Owiny, who polled 28,224 votes, was in the race against three veteran political figures, among them Mr Vincent Enomu of the independent ticket, who garnered 20,504 votes in the 247 polling stations from the 12 sub-counties in the district.

Enomu, in the previous subsequent elections, contested for the MP seat for Soroti County before the creation of Dakabela County and shifted his interest to Dakabela County parliamentary seat, which in the two consecutive elections, he lost to the incumbent, Mr Cosmas Elotu.

‘As a returning officer of Soroti District and in accordance with Sec 147 of the Local Government Act Cap 138, I declare Bob Owiny, who has polled the largest number of votes, to be the elect LC V chairperson for Soroti District,’ Mr Joseph Mukwaya, the returning officer Soroti District, announced.

The other candidates are Mr. John Calvin Elenyu of FDC, who scored 5,036 votes. Mr Elenyu served as LC III chairperson Asuret Sub County in Soroti District before he became the district councilor serving as secretary health and education in the previous term, which he later lost in pursuit of the LC V seat.

While Mr John Michael Osege, another independent candidate and husband to the former Woman MP Soroti District, Ms Angeline Osege, obtained 5,242 votes.

Mr. Mukwaya confirmed that results from all polling stations were announced and tallied, except from one, Awoja Labour Line B-Z polling station, which was nullified due to allegations of ballot stuffing. According to him, voters at the affected polling station shunned participation in the election exercise at the polling area in protest over allegations of irregularities.

‘We have tallied all the results except from one polling station, Awoja Labour Line in Aukot Sub County, where people refused to vote and boycotted the counting exercise, and we have decided to nullify those results,’ Mr. Mukwaya said before he declared the winners.

Mr Owiny’s victory was received with cheers among the electorates and supporters, who promised to work hand in hand with their elected chairperson towards the transformation of the livelihoods of the people in Soroti District.

One of his supporters, Mr Joseph Okello, called upon elected members of the council to accord the youthful chairperson due respect in the office bestowed to him by the electorates and guide him accordingly towards the development of the district.

‘The people who voted for him know what they want. I want to pray that the elected councilors and other members of the public do not disrespect our leader,’ Mr. Okello said.

The victor, Mr Bob Owiny, praised God for his victory and pledged to work and serve his electorates without segregation.

‘I have been picked and am ready to serve the people of Soroti, and I will work to serve without segregation in the line of tribalism or in any other way that will put a section of the communities at a disadvantage. I am happy for those who worked with me, and I embrace with a forgiving and open heart those that did not work with me during the campaign period, so that we can work together to serve our people,’ Mr Owiny said.

For residents of Namuyenje Village, Namuyenje Parish in Nakisunga Sub-county, Mukono District, Robert Maseruka has always been an ordinary, jolly youth they watched grow up.

Despite his new political status, he continues to relate freely with people of all walks of life, a trait many say explains how he defeated older and more established contenders.

Maseruka believes strongly in dreaming big and nurturing those dreams into reality. Even when he lacked the financial muscle to run a conventional campaign, he remained confident, choosing instead to ‘sell’ his political manifesto to the people of Mukono.

When he first announced his intention to contest for the Mukono South Constituency parliamentary seat, many of his peers did not take him seriously.

‘When I started moving around lobbying for votes at the grassroots level (kakuyege), some people began to believe in me. But the big question was always, ‘Young man, will you pull through against the incumbent MP Fred Kayondo, who has a lot of money?’ I told them my confidence and track record would prevail over money, and indeed it did,’ Maseruka says.

At just 25 years old, Maseruka, a member of the Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), is set to become the youngest legislator in Uganda’s 12th Parliament. He won the January 15 parliamentary race with 19,621 votes, defeating 10 other candidates, including incumbent MP Fred Kayondo of the Democratic Party, who garnered about 11,000 votes. What motivated his bid? Maseruka says poor living standards in Mukono South, coupled with his personal life experiences, inspired him to contest.

‘The life we are living is for hustlers, it’s survival for the fittest. It has been like this since I was born, and there has been little change. I felt this was the right time to offer myself to turn things around,’ he says.

He adds that his tenure as guild president at Makerere University strengthened his political voice and resolve. Fresh from university, Maseruka faced the daunting task of mobilising campaign resources in an environment where voters often expect financial handouts. He says honesty worked in his favour.

‘I openly told voters that I was financially incapacitated but had brilliant ideas that could impact their lives. Surprisingly, they accepted this narrative,’ he says.

Good Samaritans stepped in to support his campaign modestly.

‘Some would give me Shs1m or Shs500,000 for fuel. Members of Parliament also supported me in different ways. My team would assemble at a nearby playing field, fuel a few motorcycles, and hit the campaign trail. After a day’s work, we would return home and share a meal,’ he recounts.

Mukono South is largely peri-urban, and Maseruka admits convincing elderly voters was one of his biggest challenges. ‘We told them that if age alone delivered services, Uganda would look like Dubai by now. It’s not about age, it’s about commitment,’ he says. He highlighted key issues such as unemployment, school dropout rates, a struggling health system, and poor road infrastructure. Gradually, voters embraced his message. He pledges inclusive leadership regardless of age, gender, tribe, or political affiliation.

Although he declines to name specific politicians he admires, Maseruka says his goal is to build a political legacy that will stand the test of time.

‘I do not want people to regret voting for me. They can blame me for anything except keeping silent on issues that affect them. I want to be among the legislators who truly speak for the people,’ he says.

He paints a grim picture of conditions in Mukono South: ‘Out of 120,000 households, only 20,000 have permanent houses. On Koome Island, three toilets serve over 30,000 people. Mothers give birth in boats while being transported to the mainland. My role as MP will be to amplify these voices and push for effective service delivery.’

Who is Robert Maseruka?

Born on February 24, 2000, Robert Maseruka is the third child in a family of five born to Mr Simon Setuba and Ms Joselyn Naffuka of Nakisunga, Mukono District. He attended Kireka Hill Infant School for primary education, Bugema Adventist Secondary School, and White Star Bright Secondary School in Mukono. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, he enrolled at Makerere University in 2020, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication. He served as the 89th Makerere Guild President between 2023 and 2024. After graduation, Maseruka became the NUP district secretary for Mukono and secured the party ticket to contest for the Mukono South parliamentary seat.

Maseruka says leadership has been part of his life since childhood.

‘I was a class representative until Primary Five, then a disciplinary prefect. In Primary Seven, I became head prefect and remained a prefect throughout my secondary education,’ he says. Maseruka is currently single but says he hopes to find a partner who understands his vision as a politician.

Kampala City real estate dealer and lawyer Ismael Ssemakula’s hope of joining Parliament to represent Kalungu West Constituency has faded after the planned recount of votes cast in the constituency was aborted.

This came after Masaka Chief Magistrates Court discovered that six of the 102 ballot boxes were tampered with.

Ssemakula, who stood as an independent, lost to National Unity Platform (NUP)’s Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu in the January 15 parliamentary polls, but complained that the vote counting and tallying was marred by irregularities which denied him victory.

On Friday morning, Masaka Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe and several other judicial officers and the parties in the case convened at Kalungu Electoral Commission offices to conduct a vote recount as it had been ordered by the court.

However, in the process of sorting out ballot boxes before conducting the recount, it was discovered that six box-seals had been broken, some had no seal, and others were not labeled, which prompted the magistrate to halt the process.

Neither security nor the EC officials who were in charge of ensuring that the ballot boxes are safe could explain how the seals got broken.

Ssewungu’s lawyers led by Alexander Lule, had already asked the court to halt the exercise, insisting it was already evident that the planned exercise was futile.

Ssemakula’s lawyer Ambrose Tebyasa, told the court that since the largest number of the ballot boxes had not been tampered with and they still had seals intact, the court could proceed with the recount.

“The dispute is not on the boxes, the application basically targets what is in the boxes and there is no visible evidence that what is inside could have been tempered with, we think court can proceed with the recount so that the voters in Kalungu West can get to the rightful person who can lead the constituency for the next five years,” he added.

Counsel Lule, however, insisted that they could not proceed with the vote recount exercise after discovering that even a single ballot box had been tampered with, but in this case, over four boxes had broken seals.

“The court was very clear before we started this exercise that if we get any ballot box with a broken seal, the process would be halted forthwith, but in this case, six ballot boxes already have issues – their seals were broken, so court cannot not allow a recount to be held in such a situation,” he explained.

He said that though the applicant still had integrity of ballot boxes in custody of EC because the seal that locked the store was intact, it causes suspicions that the act of breaking the box seals happened before.

The presiding magistrate then ruled: “Ballot boxes contain materials of candidates that are not party to this case, there is also an election petition where court is yet to issue a ruling, considering the purpose of a recount, finding ballot boxes open where court is not aware of the circumstances under which this happened, I find that a recount can’t go ahead, as its purpose is frustrated,” he said.

He instead advised the applicant to seek remedy in the High Court where a full electoral petition can be entertained.

Tebyasa said that they are going to wait for Ssewungu to get gazetted as a duly elected legislator and they will file a case in the High Court.

“We are going to start on a process of preparing an election petition as a way of ensuring that our client and his voters get justice,” he said.

Lule welcomed the ruling, saying they are happy that their client is now free to be gazetted as the duly elected area MP for the next five years. Ssewungu applauded his legal team for doing a good job to secure his victory.

Ssemakula, a newcomer in Kalungu politics, polled 10,060 votes while Ssewungu garnered 10,106 votes, indicating a margin of 46 votes. Ruling National Resistance Movement flag bearer Twaha Kiganda Ssonko came in the third position with 2,211 votes followed by Democratic Front (DF)’s Michael Birimuye Matovu who collected 555 votes while Democratic Party’s James Balikuddembe got 137 votes.

Erias Lukwago has always framed himself as the shield, or, in Luganda, Engabo, of Kampala-Uganda’s capital-against growing abuses by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and its agents. But this relationship ended on Thursday when the National Unity Platform’s Ronald Balimwezo was voted in as the fifth mayor of Kampala. Lukwago’s relationship with the people of the capital as their shield goes way back to 2006 when he was voted as Kampala Central legislator. This was after he ousted Edward Francis Babu of the NRM. It was during this period that Lukwago faced off with what he termed NRM agents who were seizing public property, including Kisekka Market, Nakasero Market, and Owino Market, as well as public schools such as Bat Valley Primary School and Buganda Road Primary School.

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It was during this time that the Kisekka market became a site of confrontations between the police and the traders. The violence became common after vendors came to know that the government, Kampala City Council (KCC), under the leadership of Nasser Ntege, had ceded the market to Rhino Investments owned by Kampala businessman Col John Mugenyi. Lukwago became the flag-bearer of the interests of the common man in the capital as he sought to ensure that vendors own the markets. ‘In this city, everyone grabs. So let me also grab something for my people, the vendors. They must own the markets,’ Lukwago said. Indeed, in 2008, Lukwago leaked what he said was a parliamentary report to Nakasero market vendors. The report indicated that legislators sitting on the Local Government committee of Parliament had handed over Nakasero market to Sheils Investments, owned by NRM cadre, Hassan Basajjabalaba.

Interest in mayorship

Lukwago’s move, which was rubbished by Members of Parliament (MPs) as populist, was enough to spark off riots among the traders in Nakasero. As a result of this chaos, it became common for vendors to beseech Lukwago to stand for the mayoral position instead of defending his Kampala Central MP slot. He complied with what the voters wanted and stood as an Independent. Having allied with Opposition doyen, Dr Kizza Besigye, Lukwago beat off a challenge from NRM’s Peter Sematimba by taking 64.4 percent of the vote. Lukwago’s first term would soon run into a speed bump after the powers of the Lord Mayor were clipped under the new Kampala Capital Authority (KCCA) Act.

The tweak allowed the President to appoint a powerful executive director in the name of Jennifer Ssemakula Musisi as well as a Minister in Charge of Kampala in the shape of Frank Tumwebaze. As Kampala minister, Mr Tumwebaze literally let Ms Musisi run the show at City Hall. When the latter beseeched the former, the Kibale County lawmaker would simply agree with the executive director’s position. The two ganged up against their common opponent-Mr Lukwago. They ensured that Mr Lukwago was dragged to Justice Catherine Bamugemereire’s commission of inquiry, where they accused him of abuse of office and misconduct. The High Court later stayed the implementation of Justice Bamugemereire’s report after the indefatigable Lukwago challenged it.

Be that as it may, the duo ensured that Mr Lukwago never returned to office from 2013 until he was re-elected by the defiant voters of Kampala into office in 2016 with a bigger margin of 75.5 percent. Yet even before he was re-elected for his second term, the councillors who had initially supported Mr Lukwago’s ouster had lost patience with Ms Musisi, accusing her of being high-handed and bullish. This change of heart among the councillors came to the fore in 2014 when Frank Kanduho, at the time the councillor representing Uganda Law Society (ULS) at City Hall, reported Ms Musisi to Mr Tumwebaze. This was on behalf of several councillors who felt that the Authority was going astray.

Vindicated

Though he was among the councillors who voted to impeach Mr Lukwago, which gave Ms Musisi a free rein as the city supremo, Mr Kanduho lamented to Mr Tumwebaze that any councillor who criticises managers is isolated. ‘Whoever raises a legitimate concern pointing at or questioning the governance and accountability fog and mist that there is in KCCA is always threatened with the censorship blackmail of ‘so you, too, want Lukwago back…so you too are working to fail the ED?’ Mr Kanduho wrote. ‘No one is allowed to question this or demand some explanation.

We don’t even have a forum to ask any accountability-related questions. Whoever attempts to speak in ways and means the chief steward considers anti-establishment is blacklisted as part of the bad elements working to facilitate Lukwago’s return. Animal Farm at play here.’ All this was ignored by Mr Museveni, and to a greater extent, Mr Tumwebaze, who was concentrating on his duties as Minister in-charge of the Presidency. This made Ms Musisi happy as her agenda was executed without any hindrance. There was no reason to resign. But nothing lasts forever. In the 2016 elections, Mr Museveni and his ruling NRM were humiliated at the polls in Kampala. In a complete U-turn, Mr Museveni pointed at Ms Musisi as some kind of scapegoat.

He said Ms Musisi’s highhandedness in evicting vendors led to this humiliating electoral defeat, which saw Mr Lukwago, who once again stood as an Independent, allied to the FDC, return to City Hall together with a coalition of FDC councillors. Ms Musisi never recovered from this incident as she grew milder and nearly inconspicuous. The pomp of the earlier years, which had been spurred by Mr Museveni, was all gone.

Leaving DP

As the 2021 elections were knocking on the door, unlike his former allies such as Betty Nambooze, Medard Lubega Sseggona, and Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, who had joined the newly formed National Unity Platform (NUP), Mr Lukwago chose to join his long-time ally Besigye at the FDC. Though he had made it clear that he would never abandon DP, citing his life membership card, which he got in 2004, in 2020, it seemed that Mr Lukwago had had enough of the ongoing fights with the party’s President-General Nobert Mao and other officials. Mr Lukwago’s decision to join FDC wasn’t surprising since he had allied with the party and particularly Besigye’s ‘People’s Government’ where he was deputy president, no wonder Mr Mao took offence, saying they were making the marriage official.

‘It’s a great day when a person who has been cohabitating finally gets married,’ Mao said. Under the FDC banner, Lukwago was still able to withstand the so-called umbrella wave of 2021 when he beat NUP’s Nabilah Naggayi Ssempala with a difference of 134,500 votes. Yet the voters had hamstrung Lukwago when they gave him a council full of NUP councillors, setting the stage for a clash. In 2023, Lukwago and the NUP councillors clashed after the Kiteezi landfill disasters resulted in the death of over 34 people. Mr Lukwago sent a clear warning to the NUP councillors, saying they couldn’t outlast him if they went into a full-blown fight. Mr Lukwago said he was not the kind who turned the other cheek after being slapped.

Mr Lukwago’s message was directed towards councillors who belong to NUP led by the Authority speaker Zahrah Maala Luyirika, who caused chaos by accusing the KCCA political leadership led by Lukwago of failing to table a report on waste management in Kampala. Mr Lukwago denied claims by the NUP councillors, saying his leadership was meant to furnish the report on the collapse of the Kiteezi landfill that resulted in the death of more than 34 people. Mr Lukwago said theatrics by NUP councillors thwarted the entire process of presenting the report. ‘Unfortunately, the theatrics that characterised the council thwarted the process. It’s very regrettable, and it’s of great concern to us,’ Mr Lukwago said.

Mr Lukwago also wondered why NUP councillors hadn’t yet put the KCCA ministers, Minsa Kabanda and Kyofatogabye Kabuye, under pressure to present a report on waste management. ‘I have never seen the councillors in the council saying they have summoned the minister [of KCCA] to furnish them with a report from Cabinet, after all, she is the Minister of Kampala. Why don’t you put the Minister of Kampala under pressure after all she is the representative of the President, and instead you divert your energy on John Mary Ssebuwufu, the Authority’s secretary for finance and administration,’ Lukwago said.

What next?

Yet the relationship between Mr Lukwago and NUP councillors proved to be damaged beyond repair when it emerged that the councillors had sanctioned the giveaway to Nakivubo channel to NRM-leaning businessman Hamis Kiggundu. Mr Lukwago had this to say: ‘I was disappointed in the Council; instead of focusing on reclaiming the Nakivubo drainage channel, they all turned their discussion on me because I criticised the project. I moved a motion that Mr Kiggundu get arrested and prosecuted for his illegal activities, but the motion was rejected by council members.’ Mr Lukwago’s plea that voters shouldn’t vote again for NUP wasn’t enough.

Observers say the rejection will hit the outgoing Lord Mayor where it hurts as he likely attempts to build a national profile with an eye on 2031. The performance of the nascent People’s Front for Freedom (PPF), where he serves as its interim president, barely helps matters. The party won only a couple of seats in the House. Mr Lukwago will now solely shift his attention to building the legal case for the incarcerated Dr Besigye who is battling treason charges. While the four-time presidential candidate has previously made it clear that he would endorse Mr Lukwago as a presidential candidate, it remains to be seen what his latest political defeat will bring with it.

Dr Besigye said what he likes about Mr Lukwago is the consistency and clarity of his political pursuits. If he maintains both, the PFF interim president will not be wished away.

A failure to regularly engage and listen to the issues and grievances among the electorates has cost several National Resistance Movement (NRM) Members of Parliament in the Acholi Sub-region their precious seats in the 12th Parliament.

While last Thursday’s general election saw President Museveni re-elected with a block vote in Acholi, several ruling NRM party and NRM-leaning independent parliamentary candidates, who were also incumbents, were beaten. Several residents told Daily Monitor in constituencies where the incumbent MPs lost due to their long-distance relationship with the voters, chronic absence in their respective areas, as well as their inability to mobilise and lobby support and resources that propel development in the local communities.

For example, in Gulu District, both the Woman Member of Parliament Sharon Laker Balmoyi (who lost the NRM primaries to Ms Phoebe Ayoo Obol and contested on an Independent ticket) and Aswa County MP Simon Wokorach (NRM) lost their seats. ‘Laker lost right from the primaries because when we voted for her in 2021, it was rare to see her unless at public events. She does not synchronise with us and does not have time to understand our challenges [so as] to help us,’ Ms Joyce Abolo, a resident of Cwero Trading Centre in Paicho Sub-county., says Ms Laker, who polled 2,448 votes, came in the third position after Ms Nancy Atimango (Independent), who got 8,368 votes. The incumbent lost to NRM’s Obol, who got 13,311 votes.

Others in the race included Independent candidates Filda Anyadwe Onek (267 votes) , Irene Lalam (196 votes), and Maureen Atim (150 votes). Meanwhile, Mr Wokorach (NRM) garnered 9,781 votes, trailing Democratic Party’s (DP) Patrick Okello Onguti, who got 13,889 votes and won the Aswa County seat. Other candidates in the race, who contested on the Independent ticket were Mr Johnson Olwa Agara (707 votes), James Oringa (202 votes), and Walter Okot (174 votes). The Nwoya District Woman MP, Ms Judith Peace Achan, who contested on the Independent ticket after trailing in the NRM primaries, lost her seat to NRM’s Christine Lanyero Awany (NRM), who got 12,715 votes. Ms Achan got 6,866 votes.

Meanwhile, Nwoya County MP Tonny Awany, who got 5,022 votes, lost to DP’s Denis Geoffrey Opiyo, who garnered 5,044 votes, a difference of 22 votes. In Chua East County, Mr John Calvin Okoya (Independent), having garnered 14,688 votes, defeated NRM candidate and State minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello, who got 12,297 votes. In Agago North constituency, Mr Benson Lugwar (Independent), who got 11,837 votes, floored the incumbent, Mr John Amos Okot (NRM), who got 10,918 votes. In Laroo-Pece Division of Gulu City, DP president Norbert Mao won with 7,359 votes, flooring the incumbent, Fr Charles Onen (Independent but NRM leaning), who garnered 5,562 votes and NRM candidate Tonny Kitara, who got 2,867 votes.

Earlier this week, Fr Charles Onen, the Pece-Laroo Division (incumbent) MP, blamed his loss on voter bribery and the failure of Biometric Voter Verification Kits on Election Day. He, however, downplayed reports of his dwindling support in the constituency. ‘I got over 5,000 votes without giving a single coin to anyone, while my opponents splashed money to bribe opponents, and I ran my campaign without funding from anyone. Anyone saying I received funds from someone is lying,’ Fr Onen said. Meanwhile, in the Pader District Woman MP race, a hotly contested NRM primaries between former MP Christine Doreen Lowila and Ms Paska Aciro Menya (incumbent and an Independent candidate), in which Ms Lowila won, progressed to become the determinant factor when Ms Lowila polled 22,690 votes against Ms Menya’s 16,213 votes.

In Agago County, Agago District, former MP Edward Otto Makmot bounced back after garnering 11,982 votes while the incumbent, Mr David Lagen (NRM) got 7,017). In the Aruu North MP race, NRM’s Wellborn Ottober Odiya (14,327) upset Ms Santa Okot, the incumbent of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) , who polled 4,578 votes and DF’s George Kibwota, who got 7,315 votes. Also, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party’s Denis Amere floored State minister for Environment Beatrice Atim Anywar, who got 5,013 votes) to retain the Kitgum Municipality MP seat. Mr Amere garnered 6,176 votes.

Museveni win

President Museveni was able to come out with the biggest fraction of votes in the Acholi sub-region in his last week’s re-election. According to Electoral Commission records, of the total 386,573 votes that were cast out of the 849,744 registered voters, Mr Museveni plucked off a block share of 313,319 votes while the remaining candidates shared the remaining 73,254 votes, with NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, polling 35,193 votes .