What happened in Kawempe North by-election should be discouraged – UPC

20 March 2025, 10:22 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), through its party spokesperson, Sharon Arach Oyat, has expressed its views on the recently concluded Kawempe North by-election held on 13th March 2025, where Erias Nalukoola of the National Unity Platform (NUP) emerged as the winner. Speaking during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kampala, Arach stated that it would be entirely unfair for President Museveni to claim that ballot stuffing has been ongoing since 1961. “This is not a record the British government would want to share, nor is it a record the pioneers of modern nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and internationalism in Uganda would like to be associated with. This record should be corrected,” Arach said.

The party further emphasised that parties such as the Democratic Party (DP), Uganda Hereditary Chieftainship Party (UHCP), Uganda African Union (UAU), Bataka Party of Busoga, Kabaka Yeka (KY), UPC, and even Independents, were able to participate in a multi-party political process that did not require heavy military deployment, unlike what was witnessed in the by-elections in Kawempe North, Dokolo, Oyam North, Soroti, Bukedea, and Kayunga, among others.

“UPC would like to bring to the public’s attention that political solutions for national integration and nation-building should be viewed in the context of the statement, ‘leaders should not focus on solving people’s problems because they know they can cheat and remain in power regardless of whether the people support them or not.’ In the spirit of solving people’s problems, Dr Milton Obote and the UPC-led government built hospitals, schools, factories, extended the railway line from Soroti to Pakwach, constructed valley dams, and extended piped water and boreholes, among other achievements. What happened in the Kawempe North by-election should be discouraged at all costs. We call upon all stakeholders to adhere to only democratic and peaceful means of conducting political activities, bearing in mind that Uganda is a multi-party country. Therefore, no one should interfere with the electoral process as we prepare for the 2025/2026 elections,” Arach concluded.