The Kampala division mayoral elections ended in chaos, protests, and a rushed exit by officials. At Makerere University Business School (MUBS), Returning Officer Jennifer Kyobutungi declared Emmanuel Sserunjoji of the National Unity Platform (NUP) winner of the Kawempe mayoral race. Then she fled under heavy security as angry supporters hurled bottles and insults.
Sserunjoji won with 23,714 votes. Faruk Bulime of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) got 18,483. Other candidates shared about 8,000 votes. But calm did not follow the announcement. Instead, tempers exploded. Security whisked Kyobutungi into a black Harrier that sped away fast. This scene echoed the January 17 chaos at Kololo, when another official fled after declaring an NUP MP-elect.
This time, unrest spread across all five division tents—Kawempe, Nakawa, Rubaga, Makindye, and Kampala Central. Vote counting started at 11 p.m. but dragged until lunchtime the next day. Officials finished the tallies by dawn, yet they delayed the declaration. That delay deepened suspicion among opposition agents.
Around 5 a.m., Sserunjoji confronted the presiding officer. He saw clear mismatches between the forms he held and what the officer read aloud. “My opponent got zero votes on one form,” he said, “but now they give him 500.” When the officer ignored him, Sserunjoji walked slowly toward the table. Security blocked his path. “Kill me… shoot me,” he shouted. “I won’t let this fraud continue.”
Later, he showed journalists discarded declaration forms he found near trenches. Pale and exhausted, he called the process “a sham.” He asked why candidates should campaign if the system isn’t fair. Outside, jubilant NRM supporters celebrated. One agent hugged Bulime and declared, “We’ve secured three mayors and hundreds of councillors.”
NRM also won big in Kampala Central. Saad Salim Uhuru took 32,769 votes against NUP’s Moses Katabu, who got 9,090. Uhuru, a senior party figure, said, “We promised the President we’d paint Kampala yellow—and we did.” He denied claims that NRM brought violent youths to disrupt the count. “These are passionate supporters protecting their votes,” he insisted.
In Makindye, where NRM ran unopposed, tension still flared. NUP councillor Joshua Magezi protested alleged cheating. Security grabbed him from the crowd and dragged him away like “a chicken thief.” Pro-NRM youths then flooded the area, shouting down any dissent.
Nakawa and Rubaga stayed calmer. NUP’s Ali “Nubian Li” Bukeni won Nakawa with 19,121 votes. Zacky Mbeeraze kept Rubaga with 37,731. Observers noted fewer NRM disruptions there. Some party members even praised Bukeni as humble and articulate. Later, insiders admitted their real focus was Central and Kawempe—areas where the President invested heavily.
Opposition leaders condemned the irregularities. Elias Nalukoola, MP-elect for Kawempe North, said officials often changed numbers between polling stations and the tally centre. “This takes us far from democracy,” he warned. Joel Ssenyonyi added, “We’ve been here since yesterday shouting—why give someone 400 when they got 40? This should worry all Ugandans.”
For now, the Kampala division mayoral elections delivered a split result: NRM holds Central and Makindye; NUP keeps Kawempe, Nakawa, and Rubaga. But trust in the process keeps fading. As one frustrated agent asked, “Why make us campaign if the outcome is already fixed?” With councils forming soon, the bigger challenge will be governing amid such deep mistrust—and ensuring future elections avoid this cycle of fear, flight, and fury.
