
Erias Nalukoola Luyimbazi the prominent lawyer and counsel are now the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate as the Member of Parliament in the Kawempe North By-Election. It is only last October 2024 that he resigned as the counsel for the Democratic Party (DP) after his disagreement with the DP-NRM agreement. However, that was after a long time, and he waited long to do so.
It is within reason why Nalukoola would pick the NUP. He knows this is the best way to Parliament in the Opposition. The NUP are the current one who was elected to the seat and is most likely the party to get re-elected into. That’s why for him to take this seat is vital. It is the way in and ensuring himself longevity. He can now continue Mr. Update’s work and created his own legacy by doing so.
Alas, herein where the problem is. He is a political elite. This man has been in the upper echelon and is a voice of reason. Yes, he has fought as a counsel for big cases and for prominent leaders. That’s been part of his work and what he stood for. However, that doesn’t make him a man of the people. Only that he has picked to represent as a set of people and they have given him work.
The former DP counsel just mere months after leaving that party of long affiliation. That man decided to stand in the earliest By-Election. He got ahead and even used his nomination of the role as a way of giving rice to supporters, as he presented his paperwork to the NUP Party officials. That’s what he decided to do, and it is telling.
This man is transactional and will leverage his position. He was just a minute ago the DP counsel. We can wonder what the Election Management Committee (EMC) is seeing or reasoning for their decision.
I’m just baffled, especially after the heroics of Mpuuga. The NUP saw what happened and there been other journeymen just using the ticket to get ahead. These people are just seeing a meal-ticket and not there for possible change. No, they are using the party and getting into office. Not caring about the message or the mandate of the party. When you have the likes of Mpuuga leaving the DP to become NUP. Maybe, the NUP should be careful doing the same thing again.
That’s why I am wondering what the long-term plan with this is and what is their endgame. It seems to be a quick fix. He will never fill the void of Muhammad Ssegirinya MP. No one can fill that or become a figure like him. Mr. Update used his whole life and years to become the man he was. Meanwhile, the counsel will takeover from the late MP.
Well, it won’t be that easy. Most likely he will get elected and get a few months in the 11th Parliament before the General Election of 2026. Nevertheless, this seems like a misfortunate choice. The party did this in haste and took a big-name lawyer. Instead of picking a person that could be representative and be a voice of the people.
That’s why the NUP could have used longer time and let this one go for now. However, for the party its more important to retain a seat, than re-assure the population that the party will have their best interests at heart. It seems more into getting another MP, than getting an MP who can be as wholesome as Mr. Update. Alas, that is a forgotten chapter and it’s tragic.
Seeing this now… is just at a loss. The NUP could have made a better plan for this. They have shown some character. Nevertheless, this short-term patch work won’t build a resilient party, but instead find more journeymen to become their flagbearers. Peace.











