Jinja City Mayor Peter Okocha Kasolo has lost his seat to Abdulhafidh Nagaya, who polled 17,266 votes, according to the Electoral Commission results declared by Returning Officer Flavia Nakasi.
Nagaya (NRM) defeated Mubaraka Kirunda of National Unity Platform (NUP) who got 15,783 votes. Kasolo came fourth with 850 votes in the contest, which attracted a total of 14 candidates.
Sources attribute Kasolo’s defeat to his formal approach to governance, which voters perceived as aloof.
“When Mr Kasolo assumed office, he began chasing vendors off the streets in an effort to create order in the city. However, many locals viewed this as a witch-hunt against ordinary people, which eventually led to hatred,” a source close to Kasolo said.
Kasolo’s failure to openly criticize the government, despite being elected on the opposition NUP ticket, also hurt him. “He was seen as a betrayal to voters in the opposition stronghold, causing many of his supporters to abandon him,” the source added.
In several instances, Kasolo urged Jinja residents to embrace government projects, saying he was there to guide them on initiatives meant to improve their lives. He also defended the police and Electoral Commission, saying they acted within the law, which further alienated him from voters.
“For me, I have never been arrested since I became Mayor because I followed the law. Those faulting the police and Electoral Commission were trying to mislead them,” Kasolo said in an interview.
Political analyst Meddy Mbentyo cited the denial of the NUP party card to Kasolo as a factor in his defeat.
“If Mr. Kasolo had secured the NUP ticket, he would have remained Mayor, since Jinja City is known for supporting NUP. But the moment he was denied the card, his misfortunes began,” Mbentyo said.
Mbentyo also noted that allegations linking Kasolo to a government money deal worked against his chances of winning.
Despite his defeat, Mbentyo credited Kasolo as having been the best mayor in the history of Jinja City’s leadership.
“Kasolo did not involve himself in any land-grabbing saga in the city. I credit him for organizing Jinja, even though voters did not show appreciation for his work at the polls,” Mbentyo said.
Jinja City NRM Vice Chairman Daniel Musinguzi attributed Kasolo’s loss to limited understanding of multi-party politics among Jinja residents.
“Residents in Jinja do not embrace independent candidates, as enshrined under Uganda’s multi-party political system. In the presidential and parliamentary elections, we saw no independent candidate win. Therefore, it was always going to be difficult for Mr. Kasolo to succeed without a party flag,” Musinguzi said.
Musinguzi noted that supporters of different political parties view independent candidates as opponents, which makes them unlikely to vote for them.
He challenged the secretaries-general of all political parties to sensitize their members, urging them to discourage independent candidates from contesting against official party candidates or, if they do, to learn to work with them as long as they do not affect election outcomes.
Kasolo, who became the city’s first mayor in 2021, was elected on the NUP ticket. Jinja was elevated to city status on July 1, 2020, and is divided into Northern and Southern Divisions.