Jinja district LC5 seat attracts four candidates

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Four candidates were nominated to contest for the Jinja district LC5 seat during a three-day exercise that concluded on September 5, 2025.

They include the incumbent and NRM flag bearer, Moses Batwala, who was nominated on the first day, along with his party's primary challenger, Abudallah Suuta.

Suuta, who is also the current Butagaya sub-county LCIII chairperson, remained dissatisfied with the outcome of the party primaries and chose to run as an independent in the general polls.

Meanwhile, two other aspirants, Paul Kirunda Kibbedi and Abdurahman Mujoma, representing the National Unity Platform (NUP) and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) respectively, were nominated on the final day.

Sarah Kabakaire, the Jinja district returning officer, declaring a candidate during a heavy downpour coupled with a blackout at the Kagoma offices. (Photo by Jackie Nambogga)

Both initially faced setbacks on September 4 due to incomplete requirements. Kibbedi was challenged over nomination forms that bore scanned stamps instead of originals from his party. His team, led by NUP district chairperson Samuel Akalyaamawa, later secured the original stamped forms, which were delivered overnight by taxi, allowing him to continue the process.

For Mujoma, of the 250 signatures required, only 150 were genuine, as the other 100 supporters did not match national identification numbers (NINs), according to the Jinja district returning officer, Sarah Kabakaire.

The two candidates, although visibly bothered, assured their supporters that these were minor issues which would not dampen their determination to contest.

LC5 aspirant fails nomination

An attempt by Charles Kadogolo, a resident of Buwenge Rural in Jinja district, to be nominated for the LC5 seat failed after the returning officer informed him that he lacked several requirements. He was advised to try again in the next round.

Kabakaire confirmed that a total of 77 candidates were nominated: four for the LC5 seat, 34 directly elected councillors, 22 women councillors, and 21 representing special interest groups, including youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), older persons, and workers.

One sails through unopposed

Ali Kakaire Kiyingi, the male councillor for PWDs, was nominated unopposed.

The newly created Kagoma Town Council attracted the highest number of councillors, with six, because it has two seats designated for women. Other seats attracted between two and four candidates.

Mode of payment a challenge

Apart from minor mishaps on the first day, Kabakaire said the exercise went smoothly to the satisfaction of all participants.

She noted that at the beginning, many aspirants turned up with cash for nomination fees, forgetting that payments had to be deposited in designated banks on the Uganda Revenue Authority account.

“People were not used to the banking system as they turned up with cash, which is unacceptable,” she said.

Even those who had cleared the fees often turned up without receipts, which were mandatory for the nomination process.

Although the official closing time for nominations was 5:00 PM, some aspirants collected forms on the final day and still needed to find commissioners of oaths. This caused last-minute congestion, but most were cleared, except for Kadogolo and Joseph Kayemba, who had sought to contest for workers’ councillor on the NUP ticket.

Kabakaire explained that details of Kayemba’s supporters regarding their workplaces were missing, and both his nominator and seconder arrived late.

The exercise concluded late in the evening during a heavy downpour and a power blackout, forcing Kabakaire to use her smartphone torch to declare those who had successfully been nominated.

She commended the discipline exhibited throughout the process, noting that no cases of chaos were reported.