National • 23 December 2025

What Next for Busiro East After Walukaga’s Denomination?

The High Court on Sunday upheld the Electoral Commission’s decision to disqualify the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate for Busiro East Constituency, Mathias Walukaga, on grounds of lacking the requisite academic qualifications.

In his ruling, High Court judge Simon Peter Kinobe held that an expired certificate of mature age entry, on which Walukaga based his nomination, could not be relied upon. The court found that the certificate had lapsed by the time of nomination and was therefore invalid.

“I note that the petitioner’s only qualification had expired by nomination date, rendering both the certificate and NCHE equivalence invalid. Legal Notice No. 12 of 2015 sets strict conditions with no provision for extension or exception.

It provides that a mature age entrance examinations certificate awarded to a person aged at least 22 years who has passed the mature age entry examination should be valid for two years from the date of award… The letter from IUIU dated 11th November 2025 suggesting conditional validity if the certificate is used to enrol for further studies cannot override the express legal framework,” Kinobe’s ruling reads in part.

“I therefore find that; an expired certificate at the time of nomination cannot lead to a legitimate nomination…The petitioner did not possess a valid academic qualification at the time of nomination…his nomination was invalid and rightly set aside by the 1st respondent,” the court ruled. The decision, which had been widely anticipated, throws Busiro East’s political contest into uncertainty.

Walukaga, the current chairperson of Kyengera Town Council, had been widely favoured to win the seat, which has been held by Medard Lubega Sseggona for the past 15 years. His disqualification now opens the race to other contenders.

Asked about the party’s next course of action, a senior NUP official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter has not yet been formally discussed by the party, said there was a high likelihood that the party would support Emmanuel Matovu Magoola, an independent candidate.

“What must be right away ruled out is the possibility of supporting Sseggona. That is not going to happen. In the coming days, we shall invite NUP leaders from the area at the party and they will pronounce themselves on who they are going to support. We shall then render our support to that candidate,” the official said.

Magoola, Walukaga, and Sseggona had all competed for the NUP party ticket, which was eventually awarded to Walukaga. Both Sseggona and Magoola later opted to stand as independents.

Speaking last week, Magoola said he had a prior understanding with the party leadership that he would contest as an independent in order to act as a fallback option in the event that Walukaga was disqualified.

David Lewis Rubongoya, the NUP Secretary General, who was named by Magoola as having advised him to take that route, was not available for comment. However, following Walukaga’s disqualification, Rubongoya said the party had both legal and political strategies to counter the decision.

What was clear in Rubongoya’s message, however, was that the party would not support Sseggona. Without naming him, Rubongoya said the individual had been rejected by the people and was attempting to return to Parliament “through the ventilator other than the door.”

Complicating matters further is NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi’s firm position on independents. While recently addressing supporters at the party headquarters, Kyagulanyi said the party only supports official party candidates and does not recognise “affiliated independents.”

He said anyone who chooses to stand as an independent automatically forfeits their party membership. This position is backed by the NUP constitution, which provides that a member ceases to belong to the party if they stand as an independent against a party flag bearer.

It remains unclear whether Sseggona’s political fortunes could change following Walukaga’s disqualification. Speaking last week, Sseggona said NUP had two candidates in the race—himself and Walukaga—and that Walukaga’s exit left him as the only remaining candidate deserving party support.

However, voters interviewed in Busiro East expressed strong resentment towards Sseggona, whom they accuse of orchestrating Walukaga’s legal troubles.

“Let Sseggona not lie to himself that we are going to support him now that Walukaga is out. We are tired of him and I can tell you, we shall vote for Magoola or any other person that NUP endorses,” said Peter Kato, a resident of Wakiso.

“We are not going to reward someone with a bad heart that doesn’t wish for others. I already made up my mind not to vote for Sseggona. By removing Walukaga, it has strengthened my position,” said Margret Nantongo of Kyengera.

The Busiro East parliamentary race now has 12 candidates. These include: Kiyimba Abdul (National Resistance Movement), Kangave Fred (Forum for Democratic Change), Matovu Emmanuel Magoola (Independent), Nakate Lilian (Independent), Byenkya Leonard (Independent), Nassolo Irene (Ecological Party of Uganda), Lutaaya Edward (Independent), Kalungi Masmoos (Justice Forum), Bangi Fatumah (Alliance for National Transformation), Nalubowa Margret (Uganda People’s Congress), Ssenfuma Karol (People’s Front for Freedom), and Lubega Medard Sseggona (Independent).