When Jet John Ndamagi Tumwebaze speaks about the January 15 election in Mawogola North, he does not describe a contest lost.
He describes a battle overwhelmed. In a statement released on Monday, the losing parliamentary candidate announced his intention to challenge the election results, saying the vote unfolded in an atmosphere where fear eclipsed choice and violence drowned out consent.
His decision places Mawogola North at the centre of a growing national storm, as losing candidates across Uganda question the integrity of the 2026 general elections.
“Sadly, the power of the gun triumphed over the power of the ballot,” Tumwebaze said.
“It was the UPDF literally holding the gun to the neck of the voters—ironically the same gun that should be protecting them. Cry thy beloved country.”
Tumwebaze thanked voters for what he called overwhelming support during his 105-day campaign, which he framed as a push for “a new dawn” in Mawogola North—one free of impunity, brutality, and corruption.
But on polling day, he alleges, that vision collided with force. According to Tumwebaze, violence erupted early. By 10:00 a.m., he claims, Uganda People’s Defence Forces soldiers had taken control of most polling stations, pushing out opposition agents and beating voters who protested.
He alleges that armed soldiers, working alongside civilian operatives, seized ballot papers from officials, marked them in favour of NRM candidates, and openly stuffed ballot boxes. In several polling stations, Tumwebaze says, voting had effectively ended by 11:00 a.m.
Latecomers were told ballot papers had run out. In others, he claims, the final vote count exceeded the number of registered voters. Election day, he said, was spent moving between police stations and hospitals, securing the release of detained agents and assisting injured supporters, some of whom remain admitted.
Tumwebaze went further, accusing the President’s three step-brothers—Toyota, Nzeire, and Sodo of coordinating and overseeing the violence in Mawogola North.
He also alleged that ballot papers were being sold on the black market in Ssembabule District, claiming someone from the Electoral Commission contacted him before polling day to offer ballot papers for sale, an allegation he links to deeper systemic failures.
To underscore the stakes, Tumwebaze invoked German theologian Martin Niemöller’s warning about silence in the face of injustice, suggesting that what unfolded in Mawogola North should alarm the entire country. His protest is far from isolated.
Across Uganda, losing candidates have raised similar accusations. In Kawempe North, NUP’s Nyanzi Fred rejected his defeat, citing violence, intimidation, and security force involvement. In Ssembabule, veteran legislator Theodore Ssekikubo accused Gen. Rwashande of interfering in the vote.
In Makindye West, supporters of the imprisoned Waiswa Mufumbiro say the contest was conducted under intimidation and heavy restrictions. In Nakaseke, Lutamaguzi Ssemakula accused Gen. Salim Saleh, the President’s brother, of pressuring officials to declare NRM victories.
At the Kololo tallying centre, NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya echoed those concerns.
“We have moved in different constituencies where we have been finding already ticked ballots,” he said.
“The army has also been involved everywhere, and gangs have been beating people—chasing and assaulting them.”
For Tumwebaze, the path forward is clear. Consultations are underway with stakeholders in Mawogola North, but acceptance is not on the table.
“We have two clear choices,” he said. “We can either do nothing and accept the fraud, impunity, and violence… or we challenge them. We have chosen the latter because it is right, logical, and a civic duty. History will judge us kindly.”
By the time this article was published, neither the Electoral Commission nor the UPDF had responded to the allegations. But as petitions multiply and accusations harden, Mawogola North now stands as more than a local dispute.
It has become a test case in a broader reckoning over whether Uganda’s 2026 elections will be remembered as a contested exercise—or a turning point.
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