POLITICAL NOMADS! How voters punished meal-card MPs in Jan 15 polls
They jumped parties. They chased power. They followed the money trail.
On Jan 15, voters returned the favour — with ruthless precision.
In one of the clearest verdicts ever delivered at the ballot, Ugandan voters punished political nomads, kicking out MPs who treated parties like bus stops and ideology like disposable clothing. Of the 16 incumbent MPs who defected ahead of the elections, only four survived. The rest were politically buried — loudly, publicly, and without sympathy.
The message from the electorate was brutal and unmistakable: If you jump ship, don’t expect us to jump with you.
From NUP to NRM, FDC to PFF, and others inventing personal political vehicles, the season of defections looked less like principled politics and more like a marketplace of ambition. Voters clearly noticed — and responded.
Nowhere was the punishment harsher than among former NUP MPs who abandoned the party. All five who defected were defeated, including high-profile names. Bukoto South’s Twaha Kagabo crossed to NRM and paid the price. Former Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga, after breaking away to form the Democratic Front amid the infamous Shs500m “service award” scandal, finished second — a humiliating fall for a man once at the centre of opposition power.
Two MPs who joined DF; Kimaanya-Kabonera’s Abed Bwanika and Masaka City Woman MP Juliet Nakabuye Kakande also lost to NUP candidates. Only Entebbe Municipality’s Michael Kakembo lost to an NRM flagbearer.
Political analyst Mwambutsya Ndebesa minced no words: these politicians had “lost legitimacy” and were widely seen as fortune seekers, not leaders. In short, voters saw greed, not grievance — and voted accordingly.
The carnage didn’t stop there. MPs who left FDC to join PFF also faced a cold reception. Big names like Ibrahim Semujju Nganda, Francis Mwijukye, Moses Kabusu and others were swept aside, many falling to NRM candidates. Analysts point to PFF’s failure to field a presidential candidate and the absence of a national mobilising figure like Dr Kizza Besigye as fatal miscalculations that left defectors stranded without a political anchor.
Kabale Municipality saw PFF’s Nicholas Kamara who left FDC lose to NRM’s Andrew Aja Baryayanga who got 7,973 votes against the incumbent’s 7313 votes.
Atkins Godfrey Katusabe was defeated by long-time rival Crispus Kiyonga NRM in Bukonzo County West just like Francis Mwijukye of Buhweju County and Moses Kabusu of Kyamuswa County who also lost to NRM flagbearers.
PFF’s Harold Muhindo of Bukonzo East lost to NRM’s Julius Monday Rude.
Jonam County MP Ongiertho Emmanuel left FDC and joined the NRM but was defeated by an independent candidate.
Yes, a few survived. Betty Aol Ochan, Asinansi Nyakato, Anthony Akol and Ojara Mapenduzi beat the odds. But they are exceptions that prove the rule, not evidence that party hopping works.
Academics may argue that defections are part of Uganda’s “grievance-based” politics. Voters, however, delivered a simpler interpretation: politics without principle deserves punishment.
In the end, this election was not just about parties or candidates — it was a referendum on political integrity. And the verdict was savage.
For Uganda’s meal-card politicians, the voters have spoken:
No loyalty. No ideology. No seat.
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