By Aggrey Baba
As the people of Ugandan lined up to vote on January 15, 2026, the Electoral Commission (EC) appeared to be in charge, but to Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the outgoing Kira Municipality MP, the process felt like a bus with a driver at the wheel while instructions were coming from another seat.
While on TV talk show on Thursday night, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) spokesperson said the 2026 general elections were not managed by the EC but were instead directed by President Museveni, his son [Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba], and the army.
Ssemujju noted that the scale and similarity of irregularities reported across the country pointed to deliberate control rather than administrative failure, stating that what worried him most was the scale.
“These things didn’t happen by accident. The EC appeared overwhelmed and unable to assert authority over the process,” Ssemujju said.
He added that key decisions (from security deployment to vote handling) were not made by Justice Simon Byabakam, the EC chairperson, but by political and military actors.
He described Byabakama as a figure providing institutional cover, while real power lay elsewhere.
According to Ssemujju, vote tallying happened away from official tally centres in several areas, weakening transparency. Ssemujju said he had evidence that some candidates were asked for money in exchange for being declared winners.
To him, the elections resembled a match where the referee was on the pitch, but the final calls were being made from the sidelines.
Ssemujju’s comments come at a time when courts across the country are registering a growing number of election petitions, with candidates challenging results and demanding recounts, reflecting increasing mistrust in the electoral process.
While the EC has severally defended its conduct of the recent elections, insisting the polls were conducted constitutionally, the outgoing MP warned that unless control of the process is returned to independent institutions, public confidence will continue to erode because when the driver no longer controls the bus, passengers may reach a destination, but not the one they chose. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
