Peter Mpaka, who recently withdrew from the Mbarara City North parliamentary race, and Mark Itogooro Nyabihemu, the former NUP mayoral candidate for Mbarara City, have both quit the National Unity Platform (NUP).
The two were officially presented to President Museveni at the Golf Course grounds in Booma Cell, Mbarara City.
They told the President that they had joined NUP expecting financial support for their campaigns and political activities but were left disappointed, prompting their decision to cross to the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Mpaka said the party failed to fulfil its pledge to fund his campaign, leaving him unable to mount a viable contest.
Their departure adds to a growing list of NUP withdrawals that have increasingly cleared the path for NRM candidates to proceed unchallenged ahead of the swearing-in ceremony slated for May 2026.
Among those declared unopposed are the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among (Bukedea District Woman MP), and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa (Ruhinda North). Others include Kirungi Annet Pamela (Kabarole District Woman MP), Lillian Paparu Obiale (Arua Woman MP), and Ruth Rujoki Mushabe (Kiruhura Woman MP).
In Mbarara, two female NUP candidates Provia Bakazi (Rwemigyina Ward) and Hellen Kembaga (Biharwe, Mbarara Municipality) recently withdrew from the local council elections, citing unfulfilled party commitments, financial constraints, and lack of campaign support.
In October 2025, Florence Asio, the supposed NUP flag bearer set to contest against Speaker Anita Among, failed to appear for nominations and did not communicate with the party, effectively clearing the way for Among to be nominated unopposed.
Asio later claimed she stepped down due to family pressure. She was later paraded at an NRM rally in November, where she told President Museveni that she had never been NUP but had always belonged to the NRM.
