By Nanteza Ruth Walusimbi
JINJA CITY
Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has dropped incumbent Jinja City Mayor, Alton Peter Kasolo, handing the party flag instead to Mubarak Kirunda, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) stalwart for mayorship on the NUP flag ahead of the 2026 general elections.
The decision by NUP Elections Management Committee taken on Friday, 29th August, 2025, has ignited debate among supporters and political observers across the Busoga sub-region.
Kirunda, who defected from FDC to NUP in 2023, has long been a familiar figure in Jinja politics. His four-storey building in Jinja City has served as NUP’s Busoga regional office since 2023, until the party opened new headquarters in Iganga.
Supporters of Mayor Kasolo, however, allege that the Party rewarded Kirunda for his material contributions rather than his political record.
“When you don’t give Kirunda Mubarak the party flag, he evicts—just like he did to FDC in 2021 when they refused to endorse him,” said one of Kasolo’s supporters.
Kasolo, a media personality was elected Jinja City Mayor in 2021 on the NUP ticket. During his tenure, he won praise for confronting land grabbers and spearheading the acquisition of a road construction equipment for the city.
Analysts suggest that internal alliances and strategic calculations ahead of 2026 played a role in the decision to drop Kasolo. Kirunda served as LCIII Chairman of Jinja Central Division for three consecutive terms under FDC from 2006 to 2021.
His fallout with the party came when he was denied the mayoral flag prompting him to stand as an independent against NRM’s Nasser Ashraf for Jinja Southern Division Mayor but failed.
In addition to Kirunda, NUP confirmed other mayoral flagbearers in Jinja: Simon Kasirye, a former Conservative Party national chairman who joined NUP, will contest for Mayor of Jinja Southern Division, while incumbent Ayub Wabika—another FDC defector—was handed the flag for Jinja Northern Division.
Analysts warn that while prioritizing figures like Kirunda may strengthen the party’s organizational capacity in key urban centers, it risks alienating the base that contributed to NUP’s popularity.
