NUP at war with itself: Malende–Luyirika rivalry splits Kampala

On a recent afternoon at Makerere-Kavule, where the National Unity Platform (NUP) keeps its headquarters, a closed-door meeting stretched late into the evening.

Behind those walls sat party heavyweights, including deputy president for Buganda Muwanga Kivumbi, secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya, and the party’s Electoral Commission chair Harriet Chemutai.

The agenda was simple, but the stakes enormous: how to cool the fires of a political battle that has begun to split Uganda’s largest opposition party in its most prized constituency, Kampala.

The fight is over the Kampala Woman MP seat, long considered one of the opposition’s safest and most visible strongholds. But as the 2026 general elections draw closer, the race has become a bitter showdown between the incumbent, Shamim Malende, and challenger Zahara Luyirika, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) speaker.

Their rivalry has exposed internal fractures in NUP and left many supporters wondering whether the party can contain its own tensions before voters head to the polls.

A RACE TURNED PERSONAL

Traditionally, Kampala Woman MP has been a near-certain win for the opposition. Yet today, that certainty looks less secure. At the center of the storm is Shamim Malende, who rose to prominence as a lawyer defending opposition activists.

Her tenure in parliament, however, was interrupted by prolonged illness after she was caught in the violent melee during the Coffee Amendment Bill debate. She spent months undergoing treatment in Kenya, leaving her seat vacant at critical moments.

Her absence created an opening. During that time, Zahara Luyirika declared her intention to run, building a campaign around the argument that Kampala’s women deserve representation that is not only passionate but also present.

Luyirika’s supporters point to Malende’s absences as proof that the capital needs more dependable leadership. Malende’s return reignited the rivalry, turning what might have been a quiet succession into a tug of war that now threatens to tear at NUP’s fabric.

Kampala is more than a city; in Ugandan politics, it is a symbol. Whoever carries the NUP flag here is almost guaranteed victory.

“Kampala is one of the places where the flag bearer of NUP is, by default, the winner,” said one insider who requested anonymity.

“That’s why the race is so high-stakes.” Party leaders know it too. Rubongoya has urged aspirants to “harmonize,” but he admits consensus can only come voluntarily. So far, harmonization has proved elusive.

Two entrenched factions, Malende’s and Luyirika’s, have fueled increasingly toxic exchanges among their supporters, forcing party leadership to intervene.

At last week’s meeting, Kivumbi delivered a stern message: “Candidates Hon. Shamim Malende and Hon. Zahara Luyirika have been tasked to commit to a respectful campaign, devoid of smear campaigns and blackmail. If the two don’t stop attacks on each other, the NUP Election Management Committee will invoke its power to disqualify any candidate found culpable.”

VOICES FROM THE SIDELINES

The battle between Malende and Luyirika has left other aspirants feeling sidelined. Winifred Nakandi, another contender, says her concerns have been brushed aside.

“I wonder whether my expression of interest was received by the party and if it would be considered,” she said.

Nakandi questioned Kivumbi’s warning that both Malende and Luyirika could be disqualified, arguing that such a move would violate party precedent.

“We want to be clear to our supporters so that we do not waste time and money,” she added. “If the party is looking at only two candidates, then we need to know whether the process actually matters.”

The exclusion of figures like Nakandi from key party meetings has sharpened complaints about transparency. In defense, Simon Wandukwa, NUP’s Makerere University chapter chairman, said the leadership was simply responding to the intensity of the Malende-Luyirika feud.

“Other candidates who are campaigning peacefully were not called because the meeting was about restoring order,” he explained.

MALENDE UNDER FIRE

Even as she battles for her political survival, Malende has faced criticism from within her own ranks. In a viral video, Sauda Madada, a well-known NUP mobilizer, accused her of politicizing the plight of jailed opposition members such as Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, and Gadafi Mugumya, whom she has represented in court.

Supporters argue that Malende’s visible presence in high-profile trials is both her strength and her vulnerability. “She has been running courts, attending hearings and representing several foot soldiers,” said one insider.

“This could be a political strategy or merely professional diligence.” Wandukwa added: “Whether seen as courageous advocacy or political theatre, her involvement in politically charged judicial matters adds fuel to an already tense race.”

As Kampala’s NUP supporters rally behind competing candidates, party leaders are grappling with a difficult question: can they maintain unity while running a credible, transparent selection process?

Wandukwa insists they can, if members accept the outcome.

“When you do not get the flag, just accept that the party has done its best assessment,” he said.

But not everyone is convinced. For Nakandi and others, the closed-door negotiations and selective interventions hint at a process that risks alienating voices beyond the two frontrunners.

A PARTY AT A CROSSROADS

What happens in Kampala will ripple far beyond its borders. The Woman MP seat is more than a number in parliament; it is a barometer of NUP’s cohesion, discipline, and ability to manage internal democracy in the run- up to 2026.

For now, the party has bought itself time. But the bitterness in the race, the criticisms of favoritism, and the possibility of disqualifications all point to an uncomfortable truth: NUP’s greatest threat in Kampala may not come from outside opponents but from within its own ranks.

As the elections inch closer, the test for Uganda’s biggest opposition party is no longer just about who carries the flag in Kampala. It is about whether the party itself can weather the storm intact.

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