Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) speaker Zaharah Luyirika recently boasted that she is not scared of the ongoing political endorsements being made by politicians and respected leaders within her party the National Unity Platform (NUP) in favour of her immediate competitor Shamim Malende for the position of Kampala District Women Member of Parliament.
“Yes, I have seen on social media all those endorsements you’re talking about but I’m not scared at all. We have different methods of political mobilizations, whereas my colleague might have decided to convince those leaders to endorse her, I’ve concentrated my efforts on the ground because its was one of the main requirements for one to secure a party ticket,” Luyirika said.
Luyirika and Malende are competing for NUP ticket and according to a section of party leaders, the ticket will be given according to the marks scored by the aspirants, and being rooted on the ground is carrying 60% while at the headquarter it carries 40%.
According to insiders, Malende is more grounded and the electorate still believe in her leadership even though Luyirika is also performing well at the headquarters.
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However sources close to her told this website that the ongoing endorsements have scared her.
“What I can assure you is that I will support any person who will get the party ticket in the 2026 elections, I will not contest as an independent. Five years is nothing, if I lose the ticket, I will wait until 2031 and contest for it again,” Luyirika told this reporter.
Luyirika’s statements followed a political statement made by Barbie Kyagulanyi Itungo wife to NUP principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) who praised Malende for being a good legislator who9 has fought for the rights of party grassroot mobilizers that have been targeted by State and imprisoned on fabricated political related charges.
Barbie made the statement while addressing hundreds of supporters of NUP in the United States of America where she accompanied her husband and other party leaders in their quest to mobilize for financial support for the coming 2026 political campaigns.
Sources inside NUP told this website that Barbie is very scared of Luyirika because of cierculating allegations around the circles of the party leadership that she has a special relationship with Bobi Wine and it is the reason why she was advised to abandoned her earlier political plan to contest in Makindye West and brought to Kampala with Malende who they thought was not going to recover from the illness she was suffered then.
Malende further secured another endorsement from respected Muslim titular leader Prince Dr Kassim Nakibinge Kakungulu who attended together with Supreme Mufti Sheikh Shaban Galabuzi her late father’s prayers at their home in Kawempe Division and they all pleaded with the electorate to be careful when voting their leaders in the coming elections.
Sources inside NUP have disclosed that NUP leadership through Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi the party’s National deputy president in charge of Buganda have reach out to Nakibinge to help them to talk to Malende and Luyirika to settle their competition for the party ticket out of the party elections committee
“What you should know, Prince Nakibinge stopped trusting Luyirika the day she declined to take his advice on impeaching Lord Mayor Lukwago after the 2011 general elections.
That is why even at Kibuli, she is not popular, Bobi Wine is just popularising her but the project is likely to backfire,” a senior NUP leader told this website.
Mukono Municipality legislator Betty Nambooze Bakireke also endorsesd Malende noting that for the few years she has been in opposition, she has proven her Loyalty to the Rule of Law and political change in the country unlike her competitors who are questionable.
Nambooze explained that she still remembers vividly when Luyirika and other opposition councillors at KCCA were compromised by Museveni through Jenniffer Musisi the founding Executive Director of KCCA to impeach Lukwago, a strong opposition leader who was using his position to fight Museveni’s government.
She added that when she was appointed the shadow minister in charge of Kampala, she was shocked to learn that one of the people contesting against Malende was using her position in KCCA council to fight people’s agenda on Kampala fronting Museveni’s interests.
However, Luyirika told this website that even though her competitors are basing on her old political decisions to fight her, she is does not regret whatever she did because she did it in good faith and for the good of people of Kampala.
She explained that she supported the impeachment of Lukwago because he was violating the laws governing his office and by then, any person who wished good for the people of Kampala would have done what she did.
Former KCCA councillor who was in the council during the Lukwago impeachment told this website that Luyirika and other councillors where heavily paid a lot of money to execute a political move against Lukwago and they picked the money from the president’s office
Because of the impeachment, in 2016, Luyirika and other opposition councillors including Barnard Luyiga were defeated but in 2021, Luyirika secured NUP ticket as Makindye West councillor and returned to KCCA council
“What I can assure you, enough is enough, I am not coming back to KCCA, I have grown and my people want me to serve them in another political office,” Luyirika said.
