Mukono District Woman MP Hanifah Nabukeera has announced her departure from the National Unity Platform (NUP) and intention to drag one of the opposition party's most recognisable legislators down.
Nabukeera now intends to contest as an independent candidate for Mukono Municipality, aiming to unseat the incumbent, Betty Nambooze.
The announcement was made at Seeta in Goma Division, where Nabukeera addressed her supporters.
She explained that she left NUP after her party flag was unfairly taken and given to Sheilla Amaniyo Draville, despite her name appearing on the initial shortlist.
Nabukeera, visibly frustrated, said she was disappointed that the party ignored her appeal, forcing her to shift focus from the Woman MP seat to the municipality race.
“Instead of investigating who truly has support on the ground, NUP leaders just listened to those opposing me, claiming I don’t work with them, and used that to take away my flag,” Nabukeera said.
Despite tensions with Hon. Nambooze, Nabukeera insisted that her decision to contest in the municipality is not personal but aimed at serving the people of Mukono Municipality, especially those yearning for real change.
She reaffirmed her commitment to the ideals of transformation and progress.
Rehema Namata, one of her supporters, expressed disappointment in senior politicians in Mukono who she said fight fellow opposition figures even while claiming to champion change.
Arafat Waswa, another supporter, said their movement for a "new Uganda" includes the need for new leadership in Mukono, vowing to replace leaders who focus on political battles instead of service delivery.
However, some opposition supporters have expressed concern that the infighting among NUP leaders in Mukono may create an opening for rival parties—particularly the NRM—to reclaim constituencies previously won by the opposition.
They warn that the divisions and clashes over party flags and internal competition could weaken the opposition’s hold on Mukono, reversing the gains made in 2021 when several seats shifted away from the ruling party.
Nabukeera now joins Mukono District Chairperson Rev. Peter Bakaluba Mukasa, who also opted to run as an independent for Mukono Municipality after his NUP flag was handed to Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga.
Nabukeera launched her political career in 2011, running for the Mukono Woman MP seat under the Democratic Party (DP) but lost. She eventually won the seat in 2021 on the NUP ticket, becoming the first opposition MP to win the Mukono Woman seat from the ruling NRM party.
