NUP secures 41 seats in KCCA council

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Unity Platform (NUP) has won 41 out of the 44 seats for the directly elected and woman councillors to Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA. The other three seats were taken by members of the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party which also sponsored the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.

Kampala Deputy Mayor Doreen Nyanjura retained her seat for the Makerere University woman councillor while two other FDC members, Micdad Muganga who contested for the Makerere University lord councillor position and Namazzi Olive who contested for Nakawa A won the seats.

No candidate from either the National Resistance Movement-NRM or the Democratic Party DP won a seat in the council, the first time the two parties will have no single representative at city hall. Many of them finished in the second position as the tide swang in favour of the National Unity Platform.

For NUP, it was party after party as returning officers from the five divisions declared them one by one, 11 positions in Makindye, 9 in Nakawa, 10 in Lubaga, 3 in Kampala central and 8 in Kawempe Division. The sound of People Power, Our Power covered the independence grounds in Kololo in a rare phenomenon as they celebrated.

The returning officer for Kawempe, Robert Mugabe declared the winners.

They could not hide their excitement and gladly shared their plans for the next five years. Although many of them said it was a tough journey, the tunnel is bright at the end, “the face of Kampala is changing,” they said. One of the winners, Julius Kateregga says that the journey that has just ended was crude.

Mavis Nakitende who won the woman councilor Kampala Central seat says she will focus on fighting corruption.

Faustino Nalubega who was elected to represent Makindye dedicated her win to Kyagulanyi, the leader of the National Unity Platform and the new face of change in Uganda.

The win means Kampala city Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who has been re-elected for a third term under the FDC ticket will have to work with the majority of the NUP councilors. Lukwago told journalists after he was declared the winner that he would work with the team since they are both in the opposition and are pursuing change for Uganda.

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