Seven LC5 contenders fail nomination, two pass test in Katakwi

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Two out of nine contestants for the position of LCV in Katakwi district have been fully nominated after successful verification of their documents.

The Uganda electoral commission kicked off nominations of the district chairpersons and district councilors on Wednesday, which exercise ended on Friday, September 5, 2025, with only two candidates nominated to run for the position of LC5 Katakwi from the nine, according to the electoral commission.

Those who picked Nomination forms included the incumbent Geofrey Omolo, under NRM party ticket, Martin Odaka Omedo, independent, Martin Ariko Aukin from the National Unity platform, Frances Clare Apolot, James Peter Ogeatum, Martin Ariko, David Morulem, Pius Samson Epoot, and Julius Otai, all independent.

Geofrey Omolo during nominations at the electoral commission offices in Katakwi district. (Credit: Francis Onen)

As the nomination time clocked to an end on Friday, a section of LC5 hopefuls complained of the way it has been hard for them to collect the signatures and national identity card identification numbers known as NIN.

According to the electoral commission returning officer Stephen Makubuya, during a media briefing on Friday evening, only two candidates managed to get all that was expected for one to be nominated as a candidate for the LC5 chairperson seat.

Makubuya added that Geofrey Omolo, the incumbent and Martin Odaka Omedo independent, finally got nominated on Friday evening after fully fulfilling the nomination requirements.

He stated that candidates were expected to get two-thirds (2⅓ ) of the district population, which many failed to get.

"Most of them couldn't even reach half of the population, and these include David Morulem, Martin Ariko, Frances Clare Apolot," Makubuya explained.

One candidate, Julius Otai, had not verified his documents from the National Council of Higher Education, which prevented him from being nominated.

"As an electoral commission, we carried out the nomination activities from 3rd to 5th, starting at 9am to 5pm, and everyone who appeared within the said time was worked on and was successfully nominated," said Makubuya.

Meanwhile, Martin Ariko Aukin, a national unity platform candidate, told the media that they were given a task to collect fifty signatures from their supporters, but the electoral commission system couldn't accept their supporters.

"None of the opposition party members have been nominated to contest for the position of LCV seat in Katakwi district, even after spending weeks collecting these signatures; we were all nullified," Ariko said bitterly, expressing his displeasure.

Ariko added that the systems failed to capture their details, maybe because there is a current national identity card mass renewal, which is currently causing contradictions in the details.

Another candidate, Frances Clare Apolot, noted that the same people who ran for the NRM primaries have again been nominated for the final elections, which is not fair.

The returning officer, Makubuya, stated that most of the candidates used details of the supporters who were already supporting other candidates, and also some were not voters of the electoral area, which he said made the system nullify those supporters who signed for double candidates.

However, Geofrey Omolo, the incumbent LC5 Katakwi, who was successfully nominated, expressed his gratitude to his supporters who helped him sign the nomination forms.

Omolo explained that, being a district chair for the four years, Katakwi district has registered significant developments, citing payment of district debts, recovery of district lost property like vehicles, among others.

"As a district, we successfully performed above target in revenue collection, most especially from our weekly markets, Ocorimongin cattle market, which serves East Africa. This kind of good works is what I am ready to continue with when I come back as the LC5," said Omolo.

He also boasted of the construction of the Katakwi district headquarters, which Omolo says is a significant milestone, as he calls communities of Katakwi to support him in his second term bid.