David Lewis Rubongoya, the Secretary General of the National Unity Platform (NUP), has refused to accept defeat in the January 2026 general elections for Kampala Central Member of Parliament.
He is now preparing to take the matter to court, challenging the victory of Minister Minsa Kabanda.
Sources close to the NUP headquarters at Makerere Kavule say Rubongoya is finalising an election petition against the Electoral Commission, the Kampala Central returning officer, and Kabanda herself.
He argues that Kabanda was not properly nominated and therefore should not have been allowed to stand in the election.
According to documents reviewed, Rubongoya requested copies of Kabanda’s nomination papers to confirm her eligibility.
However, he claims the Electoral Commission only released these documents on February 26, nearly a month after the election.
In his petition, Rubongoya alleges that Kabanda did not maintain a consistent official name during the election process.
He says this goes against the law, specifically the Parliamentary Elections Act.
The issue centers on differences between her name as registered with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), where she appears as Minsa Kabanda, and her nomination papers, which listed her as Minsa Kabanda Nabbengo.
Rubongoya argues that this contradicts her earlier legal name change by deed poll in June 2021.
He also claims that her political party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), submitted nomination forms using a different version of her name, adding to the confusion.
Rubongoya further disputes the final election results, in which Kabanda was declared the winner with 22,280 votes, while he received 18,211 votes.
Beyond the nomination issue, the petition raises serious allegations of electoral malpractice.
Rubongoya claims there was multiple voting and ballot stuffing in areas such as Kololo II, Nakasero II, and Kisenyi I.
In Kisenyi II, particularly in the Summit View area, he alleges that supporters of Kabanda, with help from security personnel including the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and police, were involved in repeated voting at several polling stations.
He also says his supporters were harassed by security forces during the voting process.
According to him, this forced his team to frequently replace polling agents, weakening their ability to properly monitor the election.
In Kisenyi Parish, he claims that the voting process was disrupted by groups of people he described as “goons” supporting his opponent.
Another key concern raised in the petition is the location of some polling stations.
Rubongoya argues that 23 polling stations were placed inside heavily guarded areas in Nakasero II and Kololo II.
He says the strong military presence created fear among voters and limited free participation.
As a result, he believes that the 12,372 votes from those stations should not be considered valid.
In his demands to the court, Rubongoya is asking for Kabanda’s nomination to be declared invalid and her election cancelled.
He is also requesting to be declared the rightful winner of the Kampala Central seat.
Alternatively, he is asking for a fresh election to be conducted.
Rubongoya maintains that if the votes from the disputed polling stations are removed, he would emerge as the winner.
Sources indicate that the petition is nearly ready and only awaiting final approval from the court registrar before it is officially filed.
The case is expected to draw significant public attention, as it could reshape the political representation of Kampala Central.
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