FDC’s Nandala Mafabi banks on Bugisu support for presidential bid

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Budadiri West MP Nathan Nandala Mafabi is on cloud nine after his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party endorsed him to vie for Uganda's presidency in the 2026 general election.

The 59-year-old veteran Opposition politician has been MP since 2001, when he left public service to join politics.

Asked whether he could win the presidential election when he was facing a credibility crisis as FDC secretary general, Mafabi told New Vision Online in September 2023: “Wait and see what I will get when I stand.”

He claimed he had “the home support and so I have where to begin from”.

“From there (eastern region), I will go to the north, west and then central. I am presidential material,” Mafabi said.

He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament from 2011 to 2014 and chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from 2006 to 2011.

In this role, he became a key figure in Uganda’s fight against corruption, exposing numerous cases of financial mismanagement in government.

His leadership in PAC earned him the reputation of a tough and principled politician who was not afraid to take on powerful interests.

In 2012, Mafabi contested for the FDC presidency but lost to the current Alliance for National Transformation party leader Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu.

He completed his primary education at Buwalasi Primary School in 1978, O-level at Mbale Secondary School in 1982 and A’level at Busoga College Mwiri in 1985.

He graduated from Makerere University with a bachelor of statistics degree in 1988. He then went on to obtain several academic qualifications, including two bachelor’s degrees in law and finance, and a master’s in economic policy and planning from the same university.

In addition to his education at Makerere, Mafabi pursued further professional qualifications, becoming a Certified Public Accountant.

Mafabi’s career in public service began in 1988 at the finance ministry where he was a tax assessor for five years. He then moved to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), where he worked as a revenue officer, rising through the ranks to become assistant commissioner/senior principal revenue officer in 1998.

While at URA, he also worked with the World Bank as a financial management consultant between 1998 to 2001.

According to the directory of the 10th Parliament (2016-2021), Mafabi’s special interests include helping and fighting for the poor, preparing accounts for religious and charity organisations, charity work, farming, and playing tennis.