NUP flags off Wakiso, Kampala LC1 contestants
Kampala Lord Mayor Eng. Ronald Balimwezo Nsubuga called for a strengthened LC administration to tackle corruption.
Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo Nsubuga speaks on the role of LC chairpersons and women's councils in improving service delivery during the NUP party press conference in Kampala on Monday. (Photo by Isaac Nuwagaba.)
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The National Unity Platform (NUP) has flagged off its contestants from Wakiso and Kampala districts to participate in the long-awaited Local Council I (LC1) and Women Council elections after two weeks of identifying flag bearers countrywide.
Unveiling the flag bearers on Monday (July 13) at the party headquarters in Makerere-Kavule, NUP deputy president for the western region, Jackline Jolly Tukamushaba, called for massive participation to create a firm foundation for the young party.
“This is our first grassroots election we are participating in since the party was formed on July 14, 2020. There is no position that is more relevant to people’s service delivery than the LC1 in government,” Tukamushaba said.
“NUP starts from zero and this is the motivation you should generate to participate and win us support at the grassroots level to galvanise our support base in Uganda’s politics,” she added.
“We need to uproot the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and regime sympathisers who suffocate efficient service delivery using their stamps. Our people are evicted from their lands, landlords are harassing tenants, and this is where arrests of our supporters are arranged by local council chairpersons who work as state agents, spies and intelligence informants to security start from,” Tukamushaba emphasised.
NUP Deputy President for the Western Region, Jackline Jolly Tukamushaba, and Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo flag off LC I contestants in Kampala on Monday, July 13, 2026. (Photo by Isaac Nuwagaba)
NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya claimed that identifying flag bearers had not been an easy task, alleging that many of the party's supporters had been threatened by the security apparatus, including the District Internal Security Organisation (DISO), resident city commissioners (RCCs), resident district commissioners (RDCs), the Gombolola Internal Security Organisation (GISO), the Parish Internal Security Organisation (PISO) and the police, to abandon NUP and contest as independents.
“We condemn the intimidation of our leaders and supporters by the state security structure, which has served us in a partisan way rather than serving us equally to benefit our country,” Rubongoya observed.
Call for stronger LC administration
Balimwezo said a revised structure would improve accountability and transparency, ultimately benefiting communities.
“All governance problems the state is battling starts at LC1 level. Land grabbing, shoddy road works, under-staffed health centres and dilapidated school structures start at grassroots level where the leadership connives with the powerful government officials to suffocate accountability and monitoring,” he said.
Uganda is expected to hold LC1 and LC2 elections across approximately 70,512 villages and 10,690 parishes on July 23 and July 28, respectively.
“This move is part of the party's preparations to constitute the new five-year elective term of government ending 2031, where NUP is aiming to strengthen its presence in local government structures,” Balimwezo noted.
The term of office for local councils and women councils first expired in July 2023, but the former Local Government minister, Raphael Magyezi, repeatedly extended it.
Local councils in Uganda are the lowest community-elected administrative units responsible for local governance, security and dispute resolution. Elected for five-year terms, LC1 leaders mediate minor disputes, handle customary land matters and issue recommendation letters.