NRM forced to replace Kikuube LC5 flag bearer over document discrepancies

KIKUUBE - The Electoral Commission in Kikuube district has disqualified NRM flag bearer for the Kikuube district LC5 seat, Philip Mbabazi Burnet, over mismatched academic documents.

Mbabazi, the elder brother of the late Peter Banura, the former Kikuube district chairman, had differing names on his documents, including Philip Mbabazi Burnet, Philip Kyaligonza and Philip Mbabazi.

The discrepancies prompted the Electoral Commission to decline Burnet’s nomination due to inconsistencies in the names.

As a result, the NRM party replaced Burnet with Paddy Kisembo, who came second in the NRM primary election held on May 21, 2026, and was subsequently nominated as the party's candidate.

Philip Mbabazi Burnet scored 23,279 votes, representing 58%, while Paddy Kisembo got 16,459 votes, representing 41%. Dickson Tushabe obtained 343 votes, representing 0.9%, while Valentino Rubasharaza attained 81 votes, representing 0.2%, in the NRM elections.

The nomination exercise started on Monday, May 25, 2026, and ended on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

According to Emmanuel Twine, the Kikuube district returning officer, two candidates have been nominated for the Kikuube district LC5 by-election seat, including Phenhansi Timanyire of the National Unity Platform, who contested against the late Peter Banura in the January 2026 election, and Paddy Kisembo, who was backed by the National Resistance Movement party.

“We have nominated two candidates including Phenhansi Timanyire of National Unity Platform and Paddy Kisembo of the National Resistance Movement NRM.

However, as the electoral commission, we want to make sure that we meet the candidates who have been nominated and come up with a program on how they will move,” Twine explained.

The district returning officer added that Mbabazi was not nominated because he had errors in his documents, and they could not proceed with the nomination because it would be against the law.

He noted that the Electoral Commission followed the law and electoral guidelines in its operations, which led to Burnet’s disqualification.

“Mbabazi was not nominated because he had errors in his documents, and we could not go ahead and nominate him because this could be against the law. As an electoral commission, we follow the law and the electoral guidelines in our operation, and this was the reason why we disqualified Burnet,” he said.

Dr Rosemary Sseninde, the director in charge of mobilisation at the NRM Secretariat, said the candidate who won the NRM primaries was not nominated as the party candidate because of issues concerning his documents.

She explained that his academic documents from the United States carried the name Philip Mbabazi, while the deed poll published in the gazette included the third name, Kyaligonza, which raised concerns for the Electoral Commission.

She said consultations were held with the Electoral Commission and NRM leadership in Kampala regarding the matter, but the candidate could not be nominated because of the legal implications surrounding the discrepancies in the documents.

Sseninde added that as time was running out, the party resolved to endorse Paddy Kisembo.

Meanwhile, Burnet questioned why the NRM electoral commission had cleared him to contest in the party primaries using the same documents, only for the same documents to later become grounds for disqualification.

The Kikuube district by-election followed the death of the incumbent district chairperson, Peter Banura, in a car crash on April 4, 2026.

Banura, the son of Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Matayo Kyaligonza, was hit by a speeding taxi at Butyamba-Kamusunsi village, Kiziranfumbi Town Council, along the Hoima-Fort Portal highway.