Buhweju, Uganda – Buhweju was formerly one of the counties that formed Greater Bushenyi District before it was carved out to become an independent district 15 years ago. It was a single constituency with one directly elected Member of Parliament and a Woman District Parliamentary Representative. The district was later divided into two constituencies: Buhweju County and Buhweju West Constituency.
Immediately, the Buhweju County parliamentary seat went into the hands of the opposition (FDC), represented by Hon. Francis Mwijukye.
Issue at Hand
For 10 out of the 15 years, Buhweju County has been one of the constituencies in the Ankole Sub-region and the only one with an opposition MP in the outgoing 11th Parliament from the sub-region. At the same time, it is among the worst-performing districts in terms of service delivery in the country. These include a poor road network, limited access to national water supply, limited access to the national power grid, few education facilities, and health centers, among other deteriorating social services.
However, one would wonder why the constituency is deprived of service delivery yet it has leadership and a parliamentary representative. This publication has learned that the current legislator has been a stumbling block. His radicalism and status as an opposition blue-eyed boy, coupled with close ties to perennial opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye, meant he could not cajole the ruling government to prioritize the constituency, which is solely dependent on government service delivery.
He [Hon. Mwijukye] was on several occasions seen participating in defiance against government programs and walk-to-work protests in Kampala and its suburbs. It is this radicalism that earned him many supporters in Buhweju, and hence Buhweju became the leading producer of opposition support in the Ankole Sub-region. Because of this, and on two occasions, the ruling party’s NRM attempts to woo him were futile. Mwijukye had earned himself a support base among the people of Buhweju through activism. This was partly through his core approach of portraying himself as a poor person. He could be found at waragi brewing points eating and drinking with locals, and on some occasions associating with pilgrims on their way to Namugongo, disguised as walking and being part of them, whereas in actual sense he was accompanied by his car. This attracted the populace more than participating in legislation and lobbying for the constituency; hence, Buhweju missed out on government funding.
2026 Elections Outcome
During the recent presidential and parliamentary elections, his challengers put up a spirited fight, sending him packing and causing him to lose his parliamentary seat, which he had occupied for two terms. While the NRM candidate, Eng. Zadock Mutekanga, was seen as having a narrow approach in his campaign strategy, the independent candidate and PLU’s Agaba Grace Byarugaba vehemently decampaigned Mwijukye’s radical approach through community engagement and direct interface up to LC/village level.
Ms. Byarugaba, who has been nicknamed a fearless lady by the people of Buhweju, ideologically convinced the electorate to desist from politics of empty talk and embrace politics that attracts service delivery from the government. She led an effective media campaign which saw Mwijukye lose the long-term media advantage and positions he had publicly enjoyed over the years.
It is reported that Ms. Byarugaba is an experienced media consultant and that she used her expertise and experience, in addition to her sensational messages praising the NRM government ideology. This disadvantaged the incumbent Hon. Mwijukye Francis so much that he could not compete with Ms. Byarugaba, who was reported to be an NRM cadre despite standing as an independent candidate. Whereas Byarugaba’s message worked in favor of the NRM candidate, she managed to come in third position because voters realized they needed to safeguard the NRM flag, which Mwijukye had thought he would outflank as he had done before.
The NRM District Executive Committee (DEC), which was severally belittled as NRM flag bearers at the local level and were being ferried to some radio stations by Mwijukye, was also forced to fight him in the media. The participation of some PLU members accompanying Ms. Byarugaba was also a complementing factor to Mwijukye’s downfall.
Voting Pattern
Buhweju District, which is one of Ankole’s mountainous areas, is estimated to have a total population of about 167,921, with approximately 35,305 households (according to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census). The district has a total of about 77,082 voters according to the National Register. Previously, in 2016, Yoweri Museveni of NRM got 38,229 votes totaling 85.09%, whereas Kiiza Besigye of FDC got 5,421 votes (12.07%). In 2021, NRM candidate Yoweri Museveni garnered 41,423 votes (87%), while NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) got 3,602 votes (7.6%).
This shows that the district has been voting for the NRM candidate, President Museveni. Despite the whole district voting for NRM, Buhweju County had increasingly gone into the hands of the opposition until this time around, when the people of Buhweju decided to change.
It can be noted that this fundamental change may have been influenced by people’s changing mindset about the opposition’s failures versus the role of government in service delivery. In addition, the NRM faced a big challenge this time around where the incumbent Hon. Mwijukye was seen associating with NRM flag bearers at the councilor level, an approach that annoyed voters, hence punishing him at the ballot, while others resorted to supporting independent Grace Byarugaba.
Development Partner:
Buhweju West is apparently developing faster than Buhweju County. The reason is largely because Buhweju West has been well represented in terms of leadership. Additionally, given that Buhweju West is famously known for growing mainly cash crops like tea and coffee, this has given it an advantage in increasing household incomes, attributed to leaders’ efforts, unlike in Buhweju County, whose main crops are matoke and millet. This, according to political pundits, caused admiration among voters to be like Buhweju West, thus voting for change.
Conclusively, the election outcome in Buhweju County saw NRM’s Eng. Zadock Mutekanga emerge victorious, marking a significant shift in Ankole’s political landscape. Ms. Byarugaba’s participation in the Buhweju County election is seen as a major contributing factor to NRM’s performance in both Buhweju and the wider Ankole Sub-region. As a result, the sub-region turned yellow (NRM), signaling a need for improved service delivery and full-time political participation for the ruling party down to the grassroots.
As Buhweju looks to the future, residents are hopeful that their new leaders will prioritize development and address the pressing issues plaguing the district. With a new MP on board, expectations are high that Buhweju will finally get the attention it deserves.
The outcome also sends a strong message to politicians that voters are no longer swayed by empty promises and radicalism, but rather by tangible results and a commitment to serving the people.
