Kampala, Uganda: Makindye East Member of Parliament, Hon. Derrick Nyeko, has dropped a bombshell revelation, accusing his own party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), of demanding UGX 150 million from him as a prerequisite to secure the party ticket for the 2026 polls.
Nyeko, who earlier this week shocked Ugandans on X after announcing that he was not to stand again for his position in 2026 released another statement on Thursday, September 4, explaining that his withdrawal from the race was not voluntary but compelled by what he described as “corrupt practices” within the party structures.
“I was asked to pay 150 million shillings in order to be considered for re-election. As a man who stands firmly against corruption, I cannot take part in such practices. I believe leadership should be about service, not purchasing positions,” the legislator wrote in an X post which he later deleted.
Nyeko, who has served as one of NUP’s outspoken legislators in Parliament, insisted he would rather step aside than compromise his principles, branding himself “the man of no corruption, no problems.”
The timing of Nyeko’s bombshell, analysts say, threatens to ignite internal tremors within NUP, a party that has championed itself as an alternative to what it calls “NRM’s entrenched corruption,” as it may fuel discontent among supporters who expected a clean break from traditional party politics.
The legislator, however, urged his supporters to stay strong, pledging to continue his fight for truth and integrity beyond Parliament.
Nyeko’s exit leaves Makindye East, one of NUP’s safest urban constituencies, wide open for new aspirants to jostle for the flag ahead of 2026, but inside sources say the gap may as well open door for negotiations between KCCA Speaker Zahara Luyirika and Kampala Woman MP Shamim Malende who are at loggerheads in the fight for the NUP card for Kampala Woman MP.
Luyirika, currently Councillor for Makindye Division at the City Hall, now stands as a frontrunner for the Makindye East seat, if at all the NNUP Election Management Committee (EMC) finds it suitable to console her with the slow and maintain Malende for the City Woman MP slot.
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