The National Unity Platform (NUP) has won the Nansana Municipality mayoral race in Wakiso District amid claims of electoral irregularities, as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) retained Entebbe, Kira, and Makindye Ssabagabo municipalities. John Bosco Sserunkuma, popularly known as Kaanakambatta, was on Wednesday evening declared the winner of the Nansana mayoral seat after polling 19,468 votes.
He defeated NRM’s Hamidu Nsubuga, who garnered 9,690 votes. The incumbent mayor, Bakitte Nakazzi—who won the seat on the NUP ticket in 2021 but contested as an independent this time—came third with 6,145 votes. Other candidates includedthe Democratic Party’s Richard Kazibwe with 625 votes and the Ecological Party’s Joseph Sserwanga with 275 votes.
The declaration followed hours of tension at the tally centre, where Sserunkuma and his agents challenged several Declaration of Results (DR) forms, alleging they did not tally with results from polling stations. Wakiso District Returning Officer Tolbert Musinguzi temporarily halted the reading of Nansana results to first announce outcomes from undisputed areas before later resuming and finalising the declaration.
Speaking shortly after being declaredthe winner, Sserunkuma described his victory as coming “from the mouth of the leopard,” likening it to an intense struggle. “Earlier they were reading fake DR forms and we resisted. At the last, we have secured the vote,” Sserunkuma said, crediting his supporters and agents for what he described as vigilance against attempts to alter the outcome.
Sserunkuma succeeds Nakazzi, who had served two consecutive terms. He rose to national prominence during the 2021 elections after winning a councillor seat while in prison. Wakiso District, which hosts several fast-growing municipalities around Kampala, remains a political battleground, with NUP enjoying strong support among urban and youthful voters.
In Entebbe Municipality, incumbent mayor Fabrice Luyinda of the NRM retained his seat after polling 6,704 votes. Independent candidate Michael Kabwama came second with 2,746 votes, followed by NUP’s Richard Ssenyondo with 2,630. DP’s Shafiq Sserwadda polled 301 votes, while DF’s Deo Lubwama received 46.
In Kira Municipality, NRM’s Allan Bulamu was declared the winner amid queries from rival candidates, some of whom said they had earlier conceded, believing NUP’s Norman had won the race. Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality recorded no major incidents, with NRM’s John Bosco Sserunkuma Galabuzi winning convincingly with 46,792 votes.
NUP’s Yusuf Zziwa Bugagga came second with 12,077 votes, followed by independent candidate Cedric Karma with 6,096 and Abbas Kayongo with 1,337. Before tallying, Bugagga was briefly denied access to the tallying centre but was later allowed in. He remained calm and avoided confrontation. “What can I do? Nothing will change. They already want to declare NRM. Even if we protest, they will still do it,” one agent noted.
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