Bombo, Luweero: The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Wednesday elected their 10 representatives to the 12th Parliament following an Army Council meeting held at the UPDF Land Forces Headquarters in Luweero District.
The elections were conducted during a sitting of the Army Council chaired by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF.
The exercise was overseen by the Electoral Commission and conducted in accordance with regulations governing the election of Special Interest Group representatives to Parliament.
“I, Kateeba Tumusiime Diana, being the Returning Officer for the election of UPDF representatives to Parliament, having added up the number of votes cast for each candidate in accordance with Section 72 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, Cap. 177, hereby declare the following officers elected,” the declaration form reads in part.
Elected UPDF MPs and Votes Obtained
- Lt Gen Sam Okiding (Deputy Chief of Defence Forces) – 346
- Col Sylvia Meeme (Military Police) – 314
- Col Night Ikiriza (Special Forces Command – SFC)– 307
- Lt Gen James Mugira (NEC Managing Director) – 303
- Lt Gen Sam Kavuma (Deputy Coordinator, Operation Wealth Creation) – 282
- Brig Gen David Gonyi (Chief of Staff, Air Force) – 266
- Maj Gen Henry Moses Matsiko (Joint Staff Political Commissar) – 261
- Col Victor Christine Nekesa (Air Force) – 261
- Maj Gen James Kinalwa (Joint Staff Human Resource Management) – 241
- Brig Gen Joseph Ssemwanga (Deputy Commander, Land Forces) – 198
Outgoing UPDF MPs Being Replaced
- Gen David Muhoozi – Former CDF, Minister of State for Internal Affairs
- Gen Edward Katumba Wamala – Former CDF, Minister of Works and Transport
- Gen Wilson Mbasu Mbadi – Former CDF, Minister of State for Trade
- Lt Gen Peter Elwelu – Former Deputy CDF, Senior Presidential Advisor
- Col Dr Victor Nekesa – Female UPDF representative
- Lt Col Charity Bainababo – Female UPDF representative
- Maj Dr Jennifer Alanyo – Female UPDF representative
Only Lt Gen James Mugira, Maj Gen Henry Moses Matsiko, and Lt Gen Sam Kavuma served in the 11th Parliament.
Why UPDF has MPs in Parliament?
Under the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) are allocated 10 seats in Parliament as a Special Interest Group.
The provision was introduced to ensure that the military remains connected to national political processes, particularly on matters of security, defence, and stability. During debates in the Constituent Assembly, some members opposed military representation, but government argued that it would help the armed forces “keep a finger on the pulse of national politics.”
UPDF MPs are elected through an internal Army Council process chaired by the Commander-in-Chief, unlike general elections conducted by universal adult suffrage. The law also requires that at least two of the 10 representatives must be women.
In January 2021, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni told UPDF MPs that their role in Parliament was to act as a “conveyor belt of national issues and a listening post” between the armed forces and civilian leadership.
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