Will Kambale, Kithulha rivalry cost NRM Kasese Municipality MP seat?

KASESE - The National Resistance Movement (NRM) faces a big test in Kasese Municipality as the bitter rivalry between incumbent Member of Parliament Ferigo Kambale and former district surveyor Francis Mugisa Kithulha threatens to tear the party support ahead of the 2026 General Election. 

What started as a heated party primaries campaign back in July 2025 has escalated into a political showdown with potentially devastating consequences for NRM's electoral prospects in this traditionally Opposition-leaning region.

The party primaries exposed the divide between the two candidates whose ideological differences dominated joint NRM rallies.

Both Kambale and Kithulha consistently drew substantial crowds, each confident of victory, but when the final tally was announced, Kambale emerged as the NRM flag bearer with 7,561 votes, 1,314 more than Kithulha's 6,247.

Rather than challenge the results through the NRM tribunal, despite alleging widespread malpractices during the primaries, Kithulha chose to run as an independent candidate in the General Election.

Speaking to New Vision Online on January 6, 2026, political analyst Ali Kusemererwa warned of the historical pattern this creates. He said independent candidates have rarely secured top political positions in the district's past elections, regardless of their party leanings, and instead, he explained, they typically diminish their former rivals' vote share, inadvertently boosting stronger competitors.

"The two shared their votes, leaving Florence Kabugho of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) with a block vote and subsequently emerging the winner of the seat,"  Kusemererwa said, referring to the rivalry between NRM-leaning candidates Sarah Ithungu Baleke and Mary Marylyn after Baleke secured the party's nomination for Kasese District Woman Member of Parliament.

I have fulfilled my duties

As the campaign intensifies, Kambale says he has fulfilled his legislative duties, oversight responsibilities and community development initiatives.

He particularly highlights his role in securing and implementing the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme, which is a World Bank-funded initiative that brought shillings 53 billion worth of infrastructure development to Kasese Municipality.

Robert Centenary

Kambale adds that his administration ranked among the nation's best project implementers.

"We managed to get a balance of shillings 11 billion after the intended word, then went ahead and worked on extra roads as well as fencing the premises of the municipal headquarters," Kambale says, detailing how the remaining funds were utilised for additional infrastructure improvements.

Kithulha's defence

Kithulha, however, challenges Kambale's effectiveness, citing persistent failures in addressing River Nyamwamba flooding and land conflicts in the urban area. Leveraging his background as a senior surveyor, Kithulha pledges specialised solutions to these long-standing issues. 

"It is a total shame for floods to continue disturbing our people, yet we are yearning for a city status," he remarked critically.

Adding another layer to the controversy, FDC candidate Robert Centenary, who previously represented Kasese Municipality from 2016 to 2021, disputes Kambale's claims about the USMID programme's origins. 

Centenary insists he initiated the lobbying and procurement processes during his tenure.

"The first disbursement of the USMID funds was done in the 2018-2019 financial year, before Ferigo was even nominated. So, how can he claim the project?" Centenary said.

Kasese remains a stronghold for the Opposition FDC, which has consistently wrested top positions from NRM candidates, often when the ruling party fails to harmonise its primary contenders, leading defeated aspirants to run as independents in general elections.

This year's contest features additional candidates who could further fragment the vote: Robert Mitoma of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Kidi Mafunguro of the Peoples' Front for Freedom (PFF), and independent candidate John Katusabe.