How the rogues can be stopped from getting into political positions

By John Kakande 

As the 2026 general elections draw near, the political temperatures are rapidly rising. 

Politicians aspiring to be elected to the various positions are moving up and down carrying out underground political campaigns. 

The political parties have kicked off the exercise of picking their flag bearers for the various elective positions right from the village to the national level. 

What is intriguing is that there appears to be no competitive races within the mainstream parties for the aspiring presidential candidates. 

It looks like it is a foregone conclusion that President Yoweri Museveni will be the NRM flagbearer and Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, the undisputed flagbearer for the National Unity Platform. 

It is still unclear whether the embattled FDC, the UPC, the Democratic Party, Jeema, the Alliance for National Transformation and MP Mathias Mpuuga’s new formation of Democratic Alliance will actually field candidates in the presidential elections. 

But it will be immaterial whether these minority parties sponsor presidential candidates or not and whether there are Independent candidates, and most likely there will be a crowd, it is evident that the presidential race will be a two-horse race — Museveni versus Kyagulanyi. 

The history of presidential elections since 1996 shows it is always a two-horse race and it won’t change in 2026. 

There have been questions about the calibre of some of the people elected to Parliament and the local councils at the various levels. 

Some political rogues have been elected to Parliament and local councils, In my view, it is the political parties to blame where the calibre of the elected leaders is wanting. 

John Kakande

Majority of MPs and councillors across the country were elected on the ticket of political parties. Yes, there is a significant number of Independent MPs and councillors, but they are far less than those elected on the party ticket. 

The phenomenon of Independents is partly the consequence of the ‘Movement system’. 
For two decades up to 2005, political parties were prohibited from sponsoring candidates and individuals contested elections on their ‘personal merit’. But Independents also underscore a problem within our body politic. 

The influence of political parties is still limited, though the NRM boasts of a whopping 19 million members. Why do the parties have limited influence? That is a story for another day. 

Nevertheless, the political parties can help ensure the country gets quality elected leaders. 

Currently, the parties do not seem to pay serious attention to the calibre and character of the aspirant seeking their endorsement. 

All they consider is whether the aspirant has the requisite minimum academic qualifications; loyalty to the political party; his or her financial muscle; and whether he is popular in the relevant electoral area in question. 

A political party that endorses a corrupt character for election to leadership position is complicit in corruption. We have had cases of people getting elected to Parliament, on political party tickets, after losing their jobs in public service due to corruption. 

And some of these have eventually ended up as parliamentary committee chairpersons, etc. 

If a person was dismissed from a banking job for fraud and he or she is elected to Parliament or District Council, what do you expect from him or her? 

A case in point is former Kampala Mayor Nasser Sebaggala (deceased) who was re-elected after being convicted and jailed in the US for bank fraud. His subsequent mayoral record wasn’t so illustrious. 

The NRM adopted direct and universal elections for its primaries. While this has its merits, it cannot guarantee election of quality leaders. 

The party should still do some sieving to eliminate the rogue elements. For example, NRM should not endorse MPs implicated in bribery, for re-election to demonstrate its commitment to clean leadership. 

The writer is a veteran journalist