Ronald Balimwezo Nsbuga has ended Erias Lukwago’s long stay at City Hall after defeating him in the Kampala Lord mayor race, according to the official declaration of results by the Electoral Commission.
Announcing the final tally late Friday night, the Kampala Returning Officer, Jennifer Kyobutungi said Balimwezo secured a decisive victory after polling the highest number of valid votes cast across the city.
“Having added up the number of votes cast as recorded on each Declaration of Results Form in accordance with the Local Governments Act, I declare that the total number of valid votes cast for each candidate is as follows,” Kyobutungi said.
She declared that Balimwezo, running on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, garnered 141,220 votes, beating his closest rivals in a crowded race.
“Accordingly, as Returning Officer for Kampala Electoral District and in accordance with the law, I declare Ronald Balimwezo Nsbuga, who obtained the largest number of votes, to be the elected candidate for Kampala,” she announced.
The results show that Moses Nsbuga Zitto of NRM garnered 43,615 votes while Erias Lukwago, contesting on the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) ticket, came third with 41,915 votes.
Other contenders in the race trailed far behind the winner. Beatrice Mao of the Democratic Party (DP) garnered 2,162 votes, as Ibrahim Biribawa Ssozi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) obtained 1,427 votes. Independent candidates Nabilah Naggayi Sempala and Eddie Bazira Ibalama received 1,854 and 188 votes respectively, while Jothan Amureebire, also an independent, polled 119 votes, according to the final results declared by the Returning Officer.
A total of 232,500 valid votes were cast in the election, with 3,527 ballot papers rejected and 1,047 spoilt ballots, out of 236,027 ballot papers counted, according to the official results sheet.
Balimwezo’s victory brings new leadership in Kampala, ending Lukwago’s grip on City Hall that dates back more than a decade. Lukwago first rose to the top city office in 2011, when he was elected Lord Mayor of Kampala, a position he went on to retain through successive, often turbulent, electoral cycles.
His tenure was characterised by high-profile confrontations with the central government, legal battles, impeachment attempts and a strong personal following within the opposition.
Despite changes in the governance structure of Kampala with the introduction of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Lukwago remained a towering political figure in the city for nearly 15 years, becoming one of the longest-serving top city politicians in Uganda’s history.
Balimwezo’s ascent, on the other hand, has been gradual but steady. He entered national politics in 2011 when he was elected Member of Parliament for Nakawa East, a seat he successfully defended in subsequent elections. Known for his grassroots mobilisation and party loyalty, Balimwezo rose through the opposition ranks and later became a key mobiliser for NUP in Kampala.
The declaration was made at MUBS playgrounds at 11:20 pm on January 23, 2026, sealing a transition at City Hall.
