Opposition FDC president Patrick Oboi Amuriat look on as the party's flagbearer in the Kawempe North by-election, Sadat Mukiibi was unveiled on February 5, 2025. PHOTO/COURTESY
The recent push by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party to sue the Electoral Commission (EC) over its candidate’s dismal show in the Kawempe North by-election can at best be described as comical.
The FDC candidate, Mr Sadat Mukiibi, aka Khalifah Aganaga, a popular musician now turned politician, garnered a paltry 239 votes out of the total 27,596 votes cast.
The Kawempe North seat fell vacant following the death of the area Member of Parliament (MP) Muhammad Ssegirinya at Rubaga Hospital on January 9.
Aganaga is famed for his sensational youthful music style and his signature big-shoe sizes, which has earned him the street phrase of 'ngato neene' (big shoe). But so sure was FDC of their musical candidate that they quickly unveiled him as their preferred candidate to the surprise of many party loyalists.
With optimism, the FDC dubbed Aganaga as the party’s “magic card” to winning the Kawempe North by-election.
But this was a sharp contrast to the FDC’s former preferred candidate during the 2021 elections, Mr Muhamood Mutazindwa.
FDC’s move to challenge the results of the by-election came two days after the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party also initiated proceedings challenging the results.
NRM cited rigging, ballot-stuffing and result alteration by Opposition groups.
On March 16, NRM party leader Yoweri Museveni accused the Opposition and EC of numerous irregularities that he said marred the eventual outcome of the elections.
‘Big-shoe’ unveiled At his unveiling, Aganaga brimmed with optimism about winning the Kawempe North seat. He boasted of his popularity and the new and high energy he was bringing to the party. He said he had brought “fresh ideas” for the people of Kawempe North. But as the results trickled in and were finally tallied on March 16, Aganaga came a distant fifth among the 10 candidates.
Aganaga’s pitiful 239 votes proved miserable against that of the eventual winner, National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Elias Nalukoola Luyimbazi, who ran away with 17,764 votes.
Nonetheless, his party wasn’t convinced. The FDC leadership said they were cheated out of the Kawempe North race. They accused the EC of having failed to deliver a free and fair election.
“We had the most popular candidate in the Kawempe North by-election. Kalifah Aganaga was the best candidate in this election. How do you announce he only [fetched] 239 votes,” FDC party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat queried.
Unlike the ruling NRM, which on March 17 held a meeting with its legal team over the same by-election, it is still not clear when the FDC party would make good on its promise to sue the EC.
Never good signs
FDC seems to have put the wrong foot forward right from the unveiling event on February 5. This remains imprinted on the minds of its party members and wananchi.
Party members who did not want their identity disclosed queried how a decision was made to pick Aganaga as the party flag bearer for the Kawempe North repeat polls.
“He [Aganaga] arrived late at the party headquarters accompanied by party officials and was quickly whisked into the party office boardroom. He was not even dressed in party colours,” a source at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi told this publication.
“We didn’t know how to market his candidature,” the source added.
Video footage from the February 5 unveiling shows candidate-to-be Aganaga within the FDC party offices dressed in orange-reddish trousers and a similar colour jacket. A visibly shaken Aganaga smiled sheepishly as he seemed to be waiting for “further instructions”.
Soon, whispers swept through the gathering and with more murmurs later, a blue jacket was availed and draped on Aganaga before he was ushered out of the party offices for the official unveiling.
Nevertheless, the tension was palpable among the party officials as Aganaga punched his right fist in the air several times before changing to the popular FDC party two-finger victory salute sign. The clenched fist is the political symbol of the rival NUP party.
“Despite last-minute coaching, during the television debate, our candidate could not articulate the cardinal party policies and tenets. Even simple political promises were difficult for him to express,” the source revealed.
In the end, Aganaga failed to stamp his signature big shoe on the Kawempe North by-election. More Kawempe drama Two other candidates, Alex Muhammad Luswa Luwemba and Moses Nsereko, have also vowed to seek legal redress, citing different electoral grievances. It was not clear if or when they would push through their threats.
Mr Nsereko on his part claims his votes were added to that of Mr Nalukoola who won the elections with 17,764 votes. Mr Nsereko claimed this was based on their belonging to the same National Unity Platform (NUP) party. On his part, Mr Luwemba claimed his voters, who were mainly women, were targeted and violently chased away from polling stations by soldiers.
Quotes from candidate Khalifa Aganaga
"We are not playing. We are very serious. Our legal team has been consulting and compiling the necessary data for our case. The party will be able to pronounce themselves on Friday, March 21 on the way forward."
"The brutality scared my voters who mostly were new voters hence affecting the overall turnout on polling day."
"There was no freedom of movement and a lot of insecurity making voting impossible for most of my voters."
"When we were in the harmonising meeting with the EC, they told us all as candidates that police would be in-charge of security. On voting day we were met with the military and JATT. The EC was completely not in control of the election process."
"We are shocked that the president and prime minister, who were active participants in this by-election, did not have control of the security forces. My question to President Museveni is, ‘Are you safe if you cannot control and identify your own security personnel?’
"At the tally centre, we had DR forms but what the EC was reading was different from what we had."
"We know that 50 out of 194 polling stations had their ballot boxes and ballot papers destroyed. Where did the Electoral Commission get the results they announced when more than 40 percent of the votes were destroyed?"
