I am still in Ngariam parliamentary race — Mulalu

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If you thought that Daniel Mulalu's recent handshake with sports state minister Peter Ogwang was an indication that he had withdrawn from the 2026 parliamentary race, think again.

The private secretary to the president is very much still in the Ngariam county race in Uganda's eastern district of Katakwi.

Ogwang is the incumbent MP of the constituency, and he will be seeking to retain the seat.

Countrywide parliamentary campaigns will officially begin on Monday (November 10).

When Mulalu was seen having a handshake with the minister recently, some thought of it as a sign that the former had tapped out of the parliamentary race.

However, he has since cleared the air, saying the gesture was only an act of reconciliation and mutual respect, aimed at promoting peaceful campaigns and harmony in Ngariam County and Katakwi district at large.

Indeed, the Katakwi district electoral commission confirmed the nomination of seven candidates for the Ngariam parliamentary race, including Ogwang (NRM) and Mulalu as an independent candidate.

Others include FDC's Ignatius Loyola Apuda, NRM secretariat research officer Augustine Otuko (independent) and aircraft engineer John Baptist Eidit (independent).

According to observers, the race in Ngariam promises to be one of the most closely watched contests in Katakwi.

Meanwhile, Mulalu revealed that his connection with Ogwang dates back 15 years, when he managed Ogwang’s campaigns for Youth MP for Eastern Uganda in 2010.


Mulalu said that recent incidents of poster vandalism involving his and fellow candidate Otuko’s campaign materials in Katakwi town council nearly provoked retaliation from his team, but that he chose restraint in favour of peace.

He urged his supporters to ignore talk that he had exited the race. Nonetheless, Mulalu said the political environment today has grown tense, unlike in earlier years when dialogue and unity guided local politics.