By KT Reporter
Lusswa Luwemba, the former aide to the late Kawempe North legislator Muhammad Ssegirinya, has attributed his poor performance in the by-elections to the brutality of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce (JATT) and other security agencies.
In an interview with Uganda Radio Network (URN), Luwemba stated that he had the necessary support to secure a victory, but the violent actions of JATT and other security forces deterred voters from supporting him.
Luwemba served as Ssegirinya’s assistant for nearly four years, managing all political activities, even when the MP was imprisoned or hospitalized until his death. Luwemba hoped to capitalize on his former boss’s popularity to replace him, but the voters chose another candidate.
In the election, only 28,002 out of the 196,000 registered voters in the constituency turned out. Luwemba believes that had the voter turnout been higher, he would have defeated the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate, Erias Nalukoola Luyimbazi.
Nalukoola emerged victorious with 17,764 votes, while Luwemba scored a meager 240 votes. The number of invalid votes (406) was higher than Luwemba’s total votes. Luwemba is undeterred by his defeat, stating that he will contest again in the 2026 elections.
He has already started working on programs aimed at swaying voters to his side in the coming months. He likened politics to football, where a team loses in the first leg but can emerge victorious in the second leg.
Luwemba also criticized the NRM for challenging Nalukoola’s victory in court, calling it a shame, as he believes that the violence and intimidation were orchestrated by the ruling regime. He advised the NRM to focus on improving their strategies to gain voters’ trust in 2026 rather than wasting time in court.
“We saw people being brutalized by JATT and other security forces, which were deployed by NRM, the party in power. All the security agencies that brutalized citizens are under the control of the ruling party. NRM knows who commanded which security agency to brutalize the citizens,” Luwemba said.
Although Luwemba was defeated in the NUP primaries by Nalukoola, he went on to run as an independent candidate. There have been claims that he was a ‘project’ of the Democratic Alliance led by former Leader of Opposition (LOP) Mathias Mpuuga, but he strongly denies these allegations.
“I wasn’t anyone’s project. I stood because the people of Kawempe North asked me. I know they love me and trust me. That’s why I am now on the ground to encourage them to participate in the 2026 elections, and I know I will be declared the winner,” Luwemba said-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
