The National Unity Platform (NUP) has removed the privilege to carry the party flag from some of its key leaders, citing lack of loyalty and underperformance, among other reasons. The power to assess and qualify aspirants to carry the party flag was vested in the Elections Management Committee (EMC), which released the list on Monday night.
Some of the notable names denied the honour include Busiro East MP Medard Sseggona, who was replaced by Mr Mathias Walukagga, a folk musician-turned politician; Mr Allan Ssewanyana of Makindye West, who was replaced by the KCCA speaker Zahara Maala Luyirika; and Derrick Nyeko of Makindye East, replaced by Ali Nganda Mulyanyama. The others are Mityana District Woman MP Joyce Bagala, replaced by Proscovia Nabbosa; Rubaga South MP Aloysius Mukasa, replaced by Nassolo Euginia; Wakayima Musoke of Nansana Municipality, replaced by Zambaali Bulasiyo Mukasa, a former journalist.
The party electoral committee overseer, Ms Harriet Chemutai, said their selection of the successful candidates was executed by an eight-member team, with five EMC members based at NUP party headquarters at Kavule in Kampala, and assisted by three commissioners in the sub-regions of Eastern, Northern, and Western Uganda.
‘We were looking for people’s support on the ground and how well they know the party as well as being loyal to what the party believes in,’ Ms Chemutai said.
Ms Chemutai said the aspirants were scored at 60 percent for ground strength, and 40 percent for credentials, including level of education, knowledge of the party, and loyalty to its ideals. Mr Jumah Magatto, the NUP general secretary for Mpigi, said the EMC prioritised candidates who can effectively mobilise the electorate and ensure the party wins the forthcoming general election. Apart from Muwanga Kivumbi, who is the party deputy president in charge of Buganda, and Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze, the other leaders who joined from the DP bloc in 2020 have since been relegated or had the party flag withdrawn from them, even when they are incumbents in their constituencies.
Some analysts have cited their sympathy and leaning towards some of their former DP bloc parliamentary ranks who have since left. The quitters included Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the former NUP party deputy president in charge of Buganda, who left the party and subsequently formed his own political outfit, the Democratic Alliance, before it morphed into Democratic Front (DF). Many other leaders who were close to Mr Mpuuga were torn between moving with the embattled leader or staying a little longer in NUP.
Mr Ssegona, Ssewanyana, and Joyce Bagala, the Mityana District Woman MP, decided to stay in the party and mend fences, but their reception at the party headquarters has always been cold. It was, therefore, not surprising that none of them was given the nod to carry the party flag for the 2026 election despite the experience some of them have amassed.
Ssewanyana, who was denied an NUP ticket to contest for the second term under an NUP ticket, has vowed to run as an Independent in the 2026 elections. He said he did what was required of him to be the best NUP choice but wondered why he was not selected. Mr Ssewanyana said his major enemy is President Museveni, not the Opposition and that he was duty-bound to end the suffering of his electorate from land grabbing, poor education, and unemployment.
‘I once contested as an Independent and they elected me, and the people still have trust in me. I thought I could not contest again, but people have been asking me to and I have to respect their request that I come back because they see able leadership in me,’ he said.
‘We have offered ourselves so much for our party. That is why we endured two years of prison with [Muhammed] Ssegirinya. I have supported the activities of the party, especially in my area. We have registered new members, and we have carried out the core values of the party,” he added.
In June 2021, Mr Ssewanyana, together with the late Ssegirinya, was arrested and detained for nearly two years over accusations of links with the machete-wielding gangs that sprang up in the Greater Masaka sub-region. The duo was charged with murder.
Ms Luyirika, who was preferred over Ssewanyana, said her first major intention was to contest for Makindye West MP before shifting to Kampala Woman MP, but due to chaos, she decided to go back to the Makindye West seat.
‘All my heart was for the people of Makindye West. I have been their leader since my youth. I had submitted my papers to contest for Kampala Woman MP, but during the vetting process, I submitted another application for Makindye West that I had earlier desired. Everything was done transparently and democratically,’ Ms Luyirika explained.
For more than five months, Ms Luyirika has been campaigning and running activities as she was determined to replace Ms Shamim Malende on the Kampala Woman MP seat. But sources privy to the selection process said a meeting that involved top religious leaders and party bigwigs were drawn in to iron out the impasse, creating space for Luyirika, who hails from Makindye West, to be chosen over Ssewanyana. Mr Ssegona, who was denied the NUP ticket, will officially announce his next course of action today. Mr Ssegona says he has a legal background.
‘I did what I was supposed to do as a legislator. When the time for contesting came, I submitted my papers, so the reason why I have not been selected is a subject for NUP to answer,’ he said.
The interventions to get Ms Joyce Bagala, the incumbent Mityana Woman MP on the NUP ticket, ended in vain, after failing to respond to calls. Ms Baagala was replaced by Ms Proscovia Mukisa, alias Nabbosa, the former Kawempe North NUP victim of torture. Ms Nabbosa, a holder of a Mass Communication degree from Makerere University, says she was selected by NUP due to her strength on the ground, people’s choice, and loyalty to the party principles despite being one of the torture victims during the Kawempe North by-election.
She was among the 22 NUP supporters who suffered injuries on March 3, 2025, during the Kawempe North by-election when they were assaulted by security personnel. The election was won by Elias Nalukoola, but his victory was later nullified after the NRM candidate, Ms Nambi Faridah Kigongo, petitioned the High Court, citing irregularities.