This website can exclusively report that on Tuesday this week, Mathius Mulumba Walukagga and Ssalongo Emmanuel Magola held a length meeting with National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya at their party headquarters in Makerere Kavule before proceeding to the constituency to announce their 2026 political alliance.
Highly placed sources at Kavule have told Ono Bwino that after Justice Simon Kinobe of the Civil Division of the High Court dismissed Walukagga’s case where he was seeking a Court declaration overturning Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama’s decision of denominating him as Busiro East Member of Parliament candidate on grounds of lack of the required academic qualifications, Walukagga engaged the party’s top leadership including Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) on what to do next.
Even though Bobi Wine publicly announced that when he takes over the top office in the country, he is going to direct a by-election in Busiro East, he advised his friend Walukagga to engage Magoola and support his candidature because he was the only option they had left even though the incumbent Medard Lubega Ssegona was also open for talks.
Sources said that two issues dominated the negations, one, Walukagga set a condition that to support Magoola, he has to pay him at least Shs300m because he has spent a lot of money to secure the party ticket, print posters and to hire lawyers to defend him before the Electoral Commission and later in court.
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“ Walukagga was open, he told Magoola that money lenders are threatening to auction his home, he sold his two cars since he was very sure of winning a parliamentary seat to pay the money lenders and replace his two cars,” a source said.
He added that Magoola also told Walukagga that he also spent a lot of money in the process of securing the party ticket but he failed. He also told him that he spent money on party activities including renovating the party headquarters buildings, pay schools fees for children of the political prisoners and he thought that the only way to recover his money was to serve two terms in parliament.
He told Walukagga that he was ready to give him Shs300m but he had to assure him that he is not going to stand for the parliamentary seat in 2031.
He proposed to him that he should go back to Nsangi Town Council and contest as its mayor and maybe return to compete as MP in 2036.
“Rubongoya was involved and Bobi Wine was consulted because Magoola wanted to get assurance from the party leaders that Walukagga will not be given a party ticket in 2031.
However, he was advised to seal the deal because time was not on his side especially when he needs Bobi Wine’s support when he will be campaigning in the constituency in the coming week,” a source said.
In the meantime, Walukagga told this website that they agreed with Magoola that he is going to support him only this term, and come 2031, he is going to reclaim his party ticket.
“This is the reason I joined Magoola to fight a scavenger who wanted to finish our party and enrich himself by taking advantage of our people. In 2031, I’m coming back,” Walukagga said.
However, Magoola said that the issue of 2031 has not yet been resolved. It should be remembered that in 2021, David Musiri claimed that he had agreed with the incumbent Allan Ssewanyana not to contest against him after assuring him that he was going to back his candidature in 2026 a promise that was not kept because the party ticket for Makindye West was given to Zahara Luyirika.
Musiri crossed to Democratic Front as Ssewanyana stood as an independent.
