Kyagulanyi institutes special committee to probe NUP card sales

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With several National Unity Platform (NUP) candidates raising concerns that members of the party's Electoral Management Committee (EMC) and key party leaders were soliciting bribes in exchange for party tickets ahead of the 2026 elections, NUP President Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi has appointed a special committee to investigate the alleged malpractice.

Some of those who picked nomination forms to contest for various positions approached Kyagulanyi, claiming that his brother, Fred Nyanzi, and EMC chairperson Harriet Chemutai, along with committee members, were demanding between sh1m and sh10m to secure positions such as city and division mayors, district chairpersons, and Members of Parliament.

“I received such claims from very many contestants, including those from senior leaders, especially on social media, that they were soliciting money and even sex favours to be given party cards, which I want investigated,” Kyagulanyi said.

Addressing a press conference at NUP headquarters on Wednesday, Kyagulanyi announced the formation of a four-member committee to probe the sale of party tickets. He warned that any individuals found guilty would face severe sanctions, including dismissal from their party positions.

“I have constituted a special committee of regional deputy presidents led by Jolly Tukamushaba, a ‘tough mukiga’ lady from Rukiga district, to investigate these claims starting from the grassroots where several leaders come from,” he warned.

He urged members not to air grievances on social media but instead to submit verifiable evidence.

“Do not take your grievances to social media anymore, and you should come with evidence to back up your claims, be it video, audio or social media platform messages, which you can use as evidence,” he advised.

“Such claims are possible, but no propaganda shall be tolerated. We ask all the evidence in formal communication to be able to handle the matter expeditiously in the open officially because this shall lead to sanctions and disqualification of those in such positions,” he insisted.

The committee comprises NUP deputy secretary general Aisha Kabanda, organising secretary Dr Moses Kanaabi, and legal secretary Jonathan Elotu.

Responding to the allegations, Chemutai revealed that over 7,780 candidates had applied to contest various positions and dismissed the accusations against EMC members as “baseless and unfounded.”

“We need evidence of such malicious claims against us brought forward. The nominations for all our party positions were free, and nobody asked for a single coin,” she said.

“We have done our exercise transparently and with fairness, it deserved but we have never even called for harmonisation of candidates on various positions of consensus of any nature for the party tickets,” Chemutai added.

She noted that NUP had so far nominated one presidential candidate (Kyagulanyi), 940 MPs, 204 district women MPs, 171 district chairpersons, 343 municipality and city mayors, 3,450 division and sub-county chairpersons and councillors, 1,963 division and sub-county women councillors, 380 city councillors and 333 city women councillors.

Nominations are ongoing until July 25 this year. Chemutai encouraged members interested in harmonising candidates to submit their agreements in writing before the party gets involved.

Consensus urged to prevent division

NUP Deputy President for Buganda region and Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi expressed concern over internal conflicts related to party cards, warning that they could sow division before 2026.

“Campaigns are inherently a disagreement. It may bring divisions because there is always competition, which results in fallouts, and it is not good for our party,” Kivumbi said.

He urged consensus and harmonisation to resolve grievances and preserve party unity.

NUP secretary general Lewis Rubongoya said they were surprised to see senior party members attacking each other over alleged secret meetings related to ticket allocations.

“There should be candidate-to-candidate harmonisation before the party comes in to do the vetting, but we do not want to hear such issues dragging on too far ahead of elections,” he said.

Nominees react to bribery allegations

Isaac Tomusange, a candidate for Mityana North constituency, said party tickets should be awarded based on merit and ground support, not corruption.

“The party ticket should be given on merit and not on corruption, which has been similar in NRM, and that is what we are running away from,” he said.

Nakawa South MP candidate Dr Acer Godfrey Okot said candidates involved in selling tickets should be disqualified if the evidence is confirmed.

“Very many candidates sacrifice a lot to contest, and we need the highest level of fairness to be able to compete favourably with others. I am happy the party president has intervened,” he said.

Last weekend, former Kawempe South MP Latif Ssebagala accused Nyanzi of hosting a secret meeting to decide who should receive party tickets, calling it unfair.

Nyanzi denied the claims, describing them as propaganda by “NRM moles planted to divide the party that was formed on revolutionary ideas with an agenda to end President Museveni’s 40-year rule in Uganda.”