With the 2026 general elections approaching, the race for the Busia Municipality parliamentary seat is heating up as incumbent MP Geoffrey Macho faces stiff competition.
Ten contenders, including his longtime rival Hassan Kamba, have joined the race, reshaping the political landscape in the border town.
Since its creation in 2010, Busia Municipality has had only two Members of Parliament.
Kevinah Taaka Wandera of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) was elected in 2011 before being unseated by Geoffrey Macho in 2016.
Macho, who lost the NRM party flag to Kamba in 2020, ran as an independent in 2021 and narrowly retained his seat by just 47 votes, becoming the first MP to serve two consecutive terms in the municipality.
He credits his tenure with significant infrastructure and business empowerment projects, including the construction of a cross-border market, the tarmacking of over eight kilometers of roads under the USMID program, and a World Bank-funded water project aimed at combating cholera.
“When I took office, the municipality did not have a cross-border market, and most roads were untarmacked. Now, we have over eight kilometers of paved roads and improved water supply,” Macho stated.
However, his challengers argue that despite these developments, Macho has failed in his oversight role, leading to substandard work and poor service delivery.
Hassan Kamba, the NRM flag bearer, has been vocal about what he describes as ineffective representation.
“One of the key roles of an MP is oversight, and that has been lacking in Busia Municipality,” Kamba criticized.
Independent candidate Moses Kibedi echoed similar concerns, stressing the need for stricter supervision of government projects.
“After lobbying for projects, an MP must ensure they are well executed. Unfortunately, when you ask Macho about the status of government programs, he often lacks answers,” Kibedi remarked.
Other contenders, including Bwire Hassan Opio from the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) and Kennedy Wanyama of the National Unity Platform (NUP), have also raised concerns over the quality of government-funded projects.
“Under the USMID project, the quality of work is poor. Yet, the same contractor delivered better projects in Mbale and Tororo. This is due to a lack of proper oversight,” Opio stated.
Wanyama highlighted unresolved issues such as high youth unemployment and inadequate urban management.
“Our streets are dirty, roads are in poor condition with no streetlights, and access to water remains insufficient,” he noted.
A key issue in the race is the mismanagement of Busia Central Market, where many vendors have abandoned their stalls due to a lack of electricity and water.
“The main market lacks electricity and water, which is why many vendors refuse to operate there,” Kamba pointed out.
Macho acknowledged the market’s shortcomings, attributing them to poor design.
“The problem with our newly constructed market is its design—it looks more like a church, which is not conducive for business,” he explained.
With seven contenders vying for the NRM party flag before facing opposition candidates, the battle for Busia Municipality is expected to be highly contested.
Will Macho defy the odds again, or is the municipality ready for new leadership? The voters will decide in 2026.
