KISORO | Grace Akifeza Ngabirano had the last laugh in the Kisoro Woman MP by-election and will represent the southwestern district in Parliament for at least a year before the 2026 general elections.
Ms Akifeza, who ran on independent ticket as her own force majeure, on Thursday polled 50,459 votes to beat her nemesis and former MP Rose Kabagyeni of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) by about six thousand votes.
The Kisoro District Returning Officer, Daniel Nayebare, declared Ms Akifeza duly elected at exactly 1.30am, breaking for foggy and tense wait for the final result and hit home a major plot twist.
📢 Official Announcement: Returning Officer Dan Nayebare has declared Independent candidate Akifeza Grace Ngabirano as the winner of the District Woman Member of Parliament seat for Kisoro District. Congratulations to the elected representative, and thank you to all voters and… pic.twitter.com/R4rmmtMelD
— The Electoral Commission – Uganda (@UgandaEC) November 14, 2024
The race to replace the late Sarah Mateke, who died in September, had four other candidates none none of them managed to hit the a thousand-vote mark as Akifeza and Kabagyeni made it their rivalry booth.
The by-election was a rollercoaster of plot twists from Day One.
After a section of the district officials initially endorsed their NRM district chairman Philemon Mateke’s daughter Ruth Nyiraneza to replace her deceased sister, the plot thickened fast.
Ms Nyiraneza pulled out early and the NRM led by party chairman and President Museveni initially asked 12 aspirants on its party primary to step down for Ms Akifeza.
Five accepted Mr Museveni’s directive but seven stood their ground only for Ms Kabagyeni to defeat Ms Akifeza by 700 votes and claim the party flag.
However, her election caused deep division in the predominantly NRM Kisoro with Mateke publicly declaring support for Akizeza and insisting Kabagyeni has been imposed on the district by NRM top brass.
Ms Akifeza, who refused to concede defeat in the primaries, picked up an independent ticket and turned the tables on Ms Kabagyeni to all but end the former MP’s political career in Kisoro.
