Sleep major winner at Kampala vote tally centre

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Sleep was the major winner at Kampala district tally centre as the various candidates that were vying for the 10 positions in Kampala district and their agents, armed with their respective declaration (DR) forms, spent two wakeful nights witnessing the tallying of the results at the Kololo Independence grounds.

Among the big shots that spent wakeful nights at the tally centre are Kampala affairs minister Hajjati Minsa Kabanda and Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi (National Unity Platform).

Conflicting DR forms and reports of stolen DR forms marred the exercise. Electoral Commission (EC) officials started with the tallying of the Presidential results. However, neither NRM candidates nor NUP were bothered about them.

Results announced on the screen showed that President Yoweri Museveni won in Kampala district with about 52% of the votes counted.

Upon completion of the tallying of the presidential results, the officials embarked on the tallying of the MP results across the five divisions in Kampala.

Kampala Central

For Kampala Central, although the position attracted 15 candidates, the competition was between Kabanda of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and David Lewis Rubongoya, the secretary general of the National Unity Platform (NUP).

Just like in other divisions, the tally of the results was halted on various occasions as Rubongoya protested results from Kisenyi I parish, State House polling station and Summit View, which he claimed had been altered in favour of Kabanda.

The returning officer tasked Rubongoya with adding the DR forms for the polling station for comparison.

However, Rubongoya failed, and thus the returning officer continued with the tallying of the results.

Upon completion of the tallying of the results at about 9:00pm on Friday (January 16, 2026), Rashid Kasakya, the Kampala district returning officer, declared Kabanda with 22,332 votes, beating Rubongoya, who got 18,242 votes.

Speaking shortly after being declared the winner, Kabanda thanked the people of Kampala for voting for her.

“I want to thank the people of Kampala for voting for me. I want to assure you that I am going to serve you better,” Kabanda said.

Asked about the allegations by Rubongoya that she had robbed his victory, Kabanda said, “Who knows Rubongoya in Kampala? What does he know about Kampala? How did he expect to win in Kampala, where nobody knows him?”

Abraham Luzzi, an independent who emerged third in the race, conceded defeat, saying he would make another shot in the next general election after thoroughly studying the aspirations of the people of Kampala Central.

Rubongoya contested the results, alleging that the exercise was not only characterised by multiple voting and voter bribery and rigging, but also that some of his agents were allegedly chased away from polling during the exercise.

Kawempe South

Brawls were exchanged over the Kawempe South DR forms as NUP flag-bearer Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu was confronted by agents and supporters of NRM flag-bearer Madina Nsereko as he attempted to approach returning officer Rehema Nassuuna’s desk to object to some of the DR forms she was reading.

A brawl ensued and, in the process, Nyanzi claimed that his DR forms had been stolen. He requested Nassuuna to halt the process to allow him to borrow the DR forms from his rival, Roy Ssembogga, in vain.

After being calmed down by his son, James Churchill Ssentamu, the counting of the votes continued. After tallying the votes, Nsereko was declared the winner, polling 18,591 votes, while Nyanzi emerged second, scoring 11,292 votes.

Rubaga South

After tallying the results, Rashid Hasakya declared Rubaga South’s Eugenia Nassolo of NUP winner with 35,366 votes, followed by Musa Mbaziira of NRM with 8,359 votes, while Adam Swift Mugga emerged third with 2,848 votes.

Incumbent MP Aloysius Mukasa polled 1,837 votes, and ex-MP John Ken Lukyamuzi of the Consecutive Party (CP) garnered only 595 votes. Lubega Mukaku of the Democratic Front got 1,001 votes in the race that attracted nine candidates.

Nassolo appreciated the residents of Rubaga South for choosing her as their representative in the 12th Parliament.

Rubaga North

In Rubaga North, Incumbent MP Abubaker Kawalya of NUP was declared the winner of the elections with 30,589 votes, beating nine other candidates who were seeking to unseat him.

Signh Katongole of the NRM party got 9,526 votes, while Mariam Lutale of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) garnered 1,221 votes, becoming third in the race.

Kawalya thanked the people of Rubaga North for giving him another term and promised to carry on his projects.

Nakawa East

Fredrick Ruhindi of the NRM was declared the winner with 18,555 votes, beating incarcerated Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro of NUP, who garnered 15,186 votes.

Asked why he believes the voters have decided to return him to Parliament, Ruhindi said, “Ever since I lost the seat, I have been working for my people. I have been representing them in the courts of law without charging them a single coin. In fact, my law firm is now called Ruhindi and Nakawa East Advocates. So, there is no way they could vote for a stranger.”

Ex-MP Micheal Kabaziguruka of PFF garnered 2345 votes while Winfred Nakandi of DF polled 2030 votes in the race that attracted twelve candidates.

Nakawa West

Incumbent MP Joel Senyonyi secured his seat in the 12th Parliament after defeating seven other contenders, including Herbert Anderson Burora of NRM.

Ssenyonyi was declared the winner with 21761 votes while Burora polled 9586 votes. Ivan Bwowe of PFF got only 271 votes.

Makindye West

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) council speaker Zahra Luyirika was declared winner of the seat with 32,264 votes, beating thirteen other contenders, including incumbent MP Allan Ssewanyana, who polled only 4452 votes. NRM’s Doreen Keita Kagabi garnered 12,151 votes. Before her declaration, Luyirika burst into tears, claiming an attempt to grab her victory.

Makindye East

Ali Kasirye Nganda was declared the winner of the seat with 17700 votes, defeating twenty-two other contenders, including NRM’s Judith Nuwabeine who garnered 15522 votes in the hotly contested race.

Kampala woman MP

Shamim Malende of NUP reclaimed her seat, polling 196,497 votes, while NRM’s Aminah Lukanga garnered 113,035 votes. Lukanga never showed up at the tally centre.

Malende thanked the people of Kampala for sending her back to Parliament. “I promised to continue fighting you,” Malende said.

Drama in Kawempe North declaration

It was a three-day stressful moment for incumbent MP Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola because the results from Kawempe North were the last to be announced.

Although Nalukoola arrived at the tally centre at about 10:30pm on Thursday, he was declared the winner at 3:50pm on Saturday in a dramatic way.

Nalukoola had initially run away from the tally centre after Kawempe returning officer (Nassuuna) denied him audience on the conflicting results on the DR forms she was tallying.

However, he intimated to New Vision that he returned with his DR forms collected from over 332 polling stations after receiving a call from a top Electoral Commission (EC) official advising him to adduce them for comparison.

At about 9:30am, Nalukoola returned at the tally centre armed with a big file containing the DR forms.

He straightaway presented them to Kasakya, who embarked on the exercise of verifying them. After tallying them, as Kasakya attempted to type and print them, he was told that the machines had got a technical issue.

Nassuuna later gave him a phone to talk to someone, which New Vision couldn’t ascertain.  As Kasakya was tallying the results, supporters of NRM’s Faridah Nambi started shouting at him, ordering him to declare Nambi the winner.

Kasakya left the tally centre, and when he returned, he apologised for the delay and then read out the results.

He declared Nalukoola the winner with 34,955 votes while Nambi emerged second with 8,930 votes. As he declared Nalukoola the winner, Nambi and her team protested, and some of them attempted to beat him.

Kasakya jumped in his vehicle and ran away from the angry supporters of Nambi before handing over a copy of the results to the candidates.

According to the declared results, NRM got three seats in Kampala, winning in Kampala Central, Nakawa East and Kawempe South, while NUP, which had nine seats in the previous elections, now has eight seats in Kampala district.