The Electoral Commission (EC) has removed National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Mathias Walukaga from the Busiro East MP race after ruling that he did not meet the minimum academic requirements for nomination.
The decision is detailed in a letter dated 25 November from EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama responding to a complaint filed on 4 November 2025. The petitioner argued that Walukaga lacked the required academic qualifications for a parliamentary candidate and that the Certificate of Mature Age/Aptitude Test he used during nomination had already expired by the time he presented it on 23 October 2025.
Walukaga, through his lawyers, insisted that the certificate was still valid because he used it to gain admission to university, where he is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.
However, after hearing both sides and reviewing the relevant laws, the Commission held meetings on 7, 10, 14, and 15 November 2025 and made several key findings:
- Walukaga presented a Mature Age/Aptitude Test Certificate issued by the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) on 12 June 2023, along with an equivalence certificate from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) dated 11 June 2025.
- The Mature Age/Aptitude Certificate clearly indicated it would expire on 12 June 2025—two years after the date of issue.
- During the hearing, Walukaga submitted a letter from IUIU confirming that he sat for the exam on 25 February 2023 and scored 54%.
- The same letter stated that the certificate remains valid for two years unless used for further studies. However, the certificate itself explicitly carries a two-year validity period.
- The EC noted that the law—specifically Paragraph 9(b) of Legal Notice No. 12 of 2015—states that a Mature Age certificate is valid for only two years from the date of award.
- Referring to a Supreme Court decision in Gole Nicholas Davis v Loi Kiryapawo (2007), the EC noted that an NCHE equivalence certificate cannot revive an expired qualification.
Based on these findings, the Commission concluded that Walukaga’s certificate had already expired by the time he appeared for nomination on 23 October 2025. As a result, he did not meet the minimum academic requirements for a Member of Parliament as outlined in Section 4(1)(c) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
The EC therefore ordered that Mathias Walukaga stands denominated.
Walukaga, a Kadongo Kamu singer and Mayor of Kyengera, had secured the NUP flag after defeating incumbent MP Medard Lubega Ssegona in the party vetting. Ssegona, who has represented Busiro East since 2011, is now seeking a fourth term as an independent candidate.
