Nakandi Accuses NUP of Ignoring Her in Kampala Woman MP Vetting

Winifred Nakandi has accused the National Unity Platform (NUP) of sidelining her in the Kampala Woman MP race, saying the party’s vetting process appears to favour only high-profile contenders Shamim Malende and Zahara Luyirika.

Ms Nakandi’s comments came after Deputy President for Buganda region, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, warned that if Ms Malende, the incumbent MP, and Ms Luyirika, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Speaker, fail to abide by party principles, both could be disqualified and fresh nominations invited.

“By law, if a candidate is disqualified from a race, we do not call for fresh nominations unless there has not been any other contender for the same position,” Nakandi said.

“The deputy president’s statement makes me wonder whether my expression of interest was received by the party and if it will be considered,” she added.

On Saturday, the party leadership convened a closed-door meeting at its Makerere Kavule headquarters to ease tensions between supporters of Malende and Luyirika.

The session, chaired by Kivumbi, Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, and Electoral Commission chairperson Harriet Chemutai, sought to quell clashes and insults between the two camps.

Both Malende and Luyirika pledged to respect party guidelines and urged their supporters to cease personal attacks.

Chemutai cautioned that the Electoral Management Committee (EMC) would not hesitate to disqualify candidates found inciting indiscipline.

But Nakandi argued that summoning only the two frontrunners undermined fairness and transparency.

“We want to be clear to our supporters so that we do not waste time and money. If the party is looking at only two candidates, then we need to know whether the process actually matters,” she said.

The NUP ticket is highly coveted in the central region where the opposition party has a strong backing, with taking one virtually guarantees a ticket to Parliament.