Buikwe District woman MP Diana Nankunda Mutasingwa. Right is Faridah Nabatanzi who is aspiring for the same role through the 2026 polls. PHOTO/COMBO
Four years have passed since the Electoral Commission (EC) announced the results for the current Parliament. Still, the Opposition in Buikwe District is yet to come to terms with how the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s Diana Nankunda Mutasingwa scooped the District Woman MP seat.
Ms Mutasingwa, now a junior minister in the Office of the Vice President, controversially held off the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag bearer, Ms Resty Nanteza, alias Nakapachu, by a margin of just 1,654 votes. Nakapachu polled 41,561 votes, with observers saying that Ms Faridah Nabatanzi, the National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer who mustered 30,275 votes, unwittingly paved the way for an NRM win.
“I don’t think the NRM still has overwhelming support in Buikwe. When you look at the votes I got and those that Nakapachu got, it’s clear that the Opposition has overwhelming support in Buikwe. We couldn’t join forces because Nakapachu supported Patrick Amuriat Oboi while I supported Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu,” Ms Nabatanzi, one of NUP’s leading mobilisers in Buganda, explains.
Another theory that explains Ms Mutasingwa’s victory, which was never tested by way of an electoral petition, is that State operatives altered the results.
“To date, I still have declaration forms showing that Nakapachu won. We just don’t know where the Electoral Commission got the results it announced,” Ms Nabatanzi, who is now expected to give Ms Mutasingwa a run for her money in the 2026 elections, explains.
Nakapachu bows out
While Ms Nabatanzi is still interested in wresting the Buikwe Woman MP seat from Ms Mutasingwa, Nakapachu seems to have lost faith. In fact, she decided to quit elective politics altogether.
“My supporters started celebrating as results trickled in, but then the military intervened and started altering results […] voters in Buikwe will never forget that moment and in future they will punish the NRM,” Nakapachu tells Saturday Monitor.
Why didn’t Nakapachu challenge Ms Mutasingwa’s victory in court?
“There was a lot of pressure from the voters to file a petition, but when I looked at the inefficiencies and corruption in the justice system, I concluded that I would be wasting time and resources,” says Nakapachu, a veteran journalist.
Once Nakapachu, despite claiming to have evidence of vote rigging, concluded that challenging Ms Mutasingwa’s results would be a futile exercise, rumours spread like wildfire in Buikwe that she had been compromised by the NRM party.
“Rumours were that NRM gave me Shs800m such that I wouldn’t go to court, but those rumours weren’t true. And trust me, I don’t think the people of Buikwe will allow the NRM to rob them of their victory in 2026,” she notes.
Opposition’s shock
The Opposition’s shock after Ms Mutasingwa was declared victor should be understood in the context that it had swept the rest of the constituencies in Buikwe District.
In Lugazi Municipality, NUP’s Stephen Sserubula won with 14,409 votes while NRM’s Richard Bogere Ssenkaaba came third with 8,901 votes.
In Njeru Municipality, Mr Jimmy Lwanga, who has since joined Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), prevailed with 13,676 votes, while NRM’s Diana Hope Nyago came second with 7,234 votes.
In Buikwe South, veteran DP politician Michael Lulume Bayiga emerged victorious with 28,759 votes, beating NRM’s David Ronnie Mutebi who got 15,024 votes. NUP’s Stephen Magulu came third with 2,892 votes.
Though the Opposition insists that Buikwe is now its backyard, this wasn’t the case when the district was carved out of Mukono in 2009.
Babirye underwhelms
In the ninth Parliament, Ms Dorothy Mpiima of the NRM was voted as the district’s first Woman MP. Her victory was challenged by DP’s Christine Kasule Mugerwa, but the petition was thrown out.
In 2016, Ms Mpiima was replaced by NRM’s Judith Babirye, a gospel artiste. Babirye’s term was marred by marital scandals and absenteeism. She later relocated to North America and left her constituents in limbo.
“People like Bobi Wine and Erias Lukwago were my friends during my music career, but when I joined politics on the NRM ticket, I automatically became their rival,” she said later, expressing regret over her political choices.
Is Mutasingwa a stranger?
With Ms Babirye gone, the Opposition expected to win the 2021 race. However, Ms Mutasingwa emerged victorious.
“We barely knew her here. She is not from here, and people started hearing about her during the 2021 elections. She can’t represent us. That’s why our people have never heard from her ever since she won the elections,” Ms Nabatanzi says, alluding to Ms Mutasingwa’s poor grasp of Luganda.
Although critics call her a stranger, Ms Mutasingwa says she introduced herself to Buikwe voters in 2019 when she ran for Njeru Municipality mayor.
“We were seven contestants, and I was the only woman. People liked my message of skilling women and empowering children through education. I came in second,” she recalls.
After that defeat, she strategised for a parliamentary seat.
“I worked hard and connected with the people. That’s how I came to win the Buikwe Woman MP slot,” she says.
Soon after taking office, she was appointed the youngest minister at age 29.
“I’m so thankful to the President for recognising a youth like me,” Ms Mutasingwa says.
Tough road to 2026
Ms Nabatanzi insists the next race will be different.
“I think I’m a very strong candidate, I think you know me very well. I have combed all 13 sub-counties in Buikwe. I’m certain 2026 will be my year and the year for NUP to shine.”
When asked about facing a tougher opponent in 2026, Ms Mutasingwa is dismissive:
“I don’t think I have any opponent. Do you know of any opponent?”
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