The Minister for Kampala Metropolitan Affairs Minsa Kabanda (right). After the 2021 elections, President Museveni appointed Ms Kabanda minister, a position she retained in a subsequent reshuffle. PHOTO | FILE
When residents in Kampala Central elect their next lawmaker in 2026, the two protagonists in a bitterly fought poll back in 2021 will, barring any changes of epic proportions, not be on the ballot. After Muhammad Nsereko, a Kampala Central lawmaker since 2011, beat Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu by 1,023 votes in 2021, he made clear that this was the last time he was vying for the post.
Nyanzi, who is a brother of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, the principal of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, to this day, says the outcome of that electoral process was compromised.
He, however, says that his eyes are set on the Kampala Lord Mayorship in 2026. Though Kampala Central is seen as an opposition stronghold going by the fact that it has some of the most notorious ghettos in the capital such as Kamwokya and Kisenyi, the ruling NRM party has surprisingly dominated the constituency.
To put the dominance into context, by 2006 NRM’s Edward Francis Babu had been representing the constituency for over 16 years. Babu, then a councillor at a City Hall, took over the position after Wasswa Ziritwawula resigned from the National Resistance Council (NRC), then equivalent to parliament. That was in 1989.
Ziritwawula, then a member of the Democratic Party (DP), protested President Museveni’s decision to extend his term without holding an election.
“Any people opposed especially those from the opposition from DP and UPC and other you know parties but what happened was that at the end of the day after the discussion many decided to remain in government but as for me I said that I was elected to serve for a certain period and that period is over and it’s not my mandate to renew my term of office,” Ziritwawula would later on say.
Lukwago defeats BabuBabu’s reign was ended in 2006 by Erias Lukwago, who, despite being DP’s chief legal advisor, was seen as a novice. The 2006 poll was riddled with violence to the extent that Lukwago was seen physically fighting with rogue elements in Kisenyi slum purportedly hired by then Kampala Central LC III chairman, Godfrey Nyakana, of the NRM.
It is through such determined efforts to guard against electoral fraud that Lukwago was able to beat Babu by a razor-thin margin of 103 votes. The marginal defeat compelled Babu, then an NRM political heavyweight, to seek redress in court.
The thrust of Babu’s case was that the Electoral Commission (EC) had invalidated votes that would have been his and also that the electoral body had failed to conduct and supervise the election by the Parliamentary Elections Act.
In the end, Justice Stella Arach-Amoko sent Lukwago’s supporters into raptures when she held that by signing the Declaration of Result Forms (DRF) Babu’s agents confirmed the truth of what was contained therein.
“They are confirming to their Principal that this is the correct result of what transpired at the Polling Station. The candidate, in particular, is therefore stopped from challenging the contents of the form because he is the appointing authority of the agent,” Justice Arach-Amoko ruled.
Sly Nsereko
After serving one term as the Kampala Central lawmaker, Lukwago opted to join the Kampala mayoral race during the 2011 General Elections. Nsereko’s win in 2011 began a drought for the Opposition in Kampala Central that observers say is not about to end.
An accusing finger has particularly been pointed at polling stations that are in Summit View Military Barracks. It is alleged that they are used to rig elections in favour of the ruling party.During his time as an MP Lukwago’s last legal effort was to see that the contentious three polling stations in Summit View are taken out of the military barracks.
At the behest of Lukwago, Justice Yorokamu Bamwine ordered the EC to move the polling stations out of the barracks. Why? Because inside there was a heavy military presence that would make it difficult for voters to exercise their democratic rights.
Despite the court order the polling stations still exist inside the military barracks, and Nyanzi said in court documents that they fraudulently helped to tip the result in favour of Nsereko in 2021.
Another problem the Opposition has experienced is how Nsereko has played his politics for most of the time he has been in parliament. In winning the seat for the first time in 2011, Nsereko cruised to victory on the NRM ticket. This was after getting the better of DP’s Eddie Yawe, another of Bobi Wine’s brothers.
In 2016, having allegedly fallen out with the NRM during his first tenure in parliament, Nsereko’s image was sanitised by his standing as one of the so-called “NRM rebel MPs.” He went on to easily retain his seat as an independent. A streetwise, if crafty, politician, Nsereko mastered the art of making himself relevant in Kampala Central. For instance, in the House, he sided with the Opposition on some positions like rejecting the lifting of presidential age limits.
Yet after deftly appeasing either side of the political aisle, Nsereko courted controversy when he championed the Computer Misuse Amendments bill at the behest of House Speaker Anita Among. The amendments he proffered annoyed urban youths who used Web 2.0 technologies to check power. When President Museveni signed Nsereko’s handiwork into law, his hopes of winning any elective position in Kampala were effectively ended.
2026 poll hopefuls
With Nsereko and Nyanzi out of the way, political parties have been scouting on who among its cadres stands a good chance of winning. Sources within NUP told this writer that the party has settled on Moses Kataabu who is now councillor at City Hall. Kataabu thinks this is his chance to shine on the account that he is a veteran of Kampala Central politics. This is after having served as a councillor at Kampala Central Division for about 10 years when he was a member of the DP.
Just like many DP politicians, Kataabu decamped to NUP in 2020 and he won the councillorship as a red wave swept through Buganda. Kataabu captured the imagination of Ugandans in 2021 when he turned up at City Hall during the swearing ceremony of councillors sporting a red beret and with his hands in chains. He also had a placard emblazoned with a demand: “Museveni free political prisoners.”
Taken aback Chief Magistrate, Mariam Ayo, who was aiding the process of taking the oath asked Kataabu to dress decently but the veteran politician was having none of it. “What is the problem with this? I am here to take an oath and that has no problem. Ugandans are not free. We are not free,” Kataabu said. The magistrate, however, insisted that she wasn’t going to swear Kataabu in unless he removed the chains.
“We are not forcing you but directing that you remove that. Unless you remove it, you are not going to take the oath.” Kataabu is confident in his abilities and he told Monitor that a parliamentary seat is within touching distance.
“I have been in the Local Government for 20 years, so I’m interested in being an MP. I have been a councillor for the central division for 10 years. And also, this one [City Hall] for almost 10 years. I have also been LC I, LC II. I have also served on the youth council in Kampala central. So I’m interested in that position [MP] and I’m ready to serve provided my party gives me a go ahead,” Kataabu said.
The NRM, sources say, is planning to field Minsa Kabanda, the current minister of Kampala City Authority. Just like Kataabu, Minister Kabanda is a veteran of Kampala central grassroots politics. Once upon a time, she represented Kisenyi slum in the Kampala Central Division council.After the 2021 elections, Museveni shockingly appointed Kabanda as minister and he even never dropped her in the subsequent reshuffle.
“I’m humbled and honoured to be reappointed as minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs by HE [His Excellency] the President of Uganda. I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our vibrant city and its residents,” Kabanda said upon being reappointed as minister earlier this year.
Sources allege that Minister Kabanda, using her portfolio as minister for Kampala, has been making herself relevant through doling out money and items to youth groups and hospitals.
“The minister is interested in standing in Kampala Central, but it will be her party [NRM] to make that final decision,” one of the minister’s aides told Monitor.
In 2016, Minister Kabanda had a crack at the Kampala Central parliamentary seat on an NRM ticket. She emerged second with 12,380 votes. Nsereko, who stood as an independent, emerged victorious with 25,746 votes.
BACKGROUND
In 2016, Minister Minsa Kabanda had a crack at the Kampala Central parliamentary seat on an NRM ticket. She emerged second with 12,380 votes. Muhammad Nsereko, who stood as an independent, emerged victorious with 25,746 votes.
