Hoima West mayoral aspirant thrown out for lack of signatures

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Ronald Mugisa Mahad's bid to contest for the Hoima West mayoral post in the 2026 general elections hit a snag after he failed to obtain the required twenty signatures from each of the nine wards in the division, which is a prerequisite for nomination.

Mahad, who lost to Robert Ruhigwa in the NRM primaries, hoped to be nominated as an independent candidate, but he was thrown out of the Hoima city Electoral Commission offices when he failed to fulfil the requirements for nomination.

On the final day of the nomination exercise for Hoima city, which extended to almost 9pm, police officers were called in to escort Mahad and his supporters out of the Electoral Commission offices in Kijungu after he insisted on being nominated despite not having the required number of signatures. He was later pushed out, and the gates closed.

Other candidates who were duly nominated on September 10, 2025, include Bosco Muhanuzi for mayor Hoima East on the NRM ticket, Jackson Asiimwe for Kihukya ward councillor on the NRM ticket, Favor Ssentamu for the central ward on the NUP ticket, Julius Kusiima for councillor Nyakambugu ward on an independent ticket, among others. 

The police cut off access to the Electoral Commission, and we could not get a comment from the Hoima city elections administrator, Obra Atamba, on how the exercise progressed.

The Electoral Commission on Thursday (September 11) embarked on the nomination of candidates for municipal division, sub-county, and town council chairpersons and their councillors, including special interest groups.