Former Mukono District Chairperson Francis Lukooya Mukoome has bounced back into the political arena, seeking to reclaim the LC5 seat he once held between 2006 and 2016.
Lukooya, now the ruling NRM flag bearer, was among the first candidates nominated as the Electoral Commission kicked off district-level nominations for local government elections in Mukono.
Lukooya’s return comes after unsuccessful parliamentary bids in Nakifuma County and Mukono South, but he insists that his renewed campaign is driven by the need to revive programs that he says have collapsed over the past decade.
“We were the first district in Uganda to buy a grader and a borehole drilling rig, but those initiatives have since been neglected. Today, Mukono’s water coverage is below 30 percent.
My agenda is to revamp what we started, especially in service delivery and youth employment,” Lukooya told journalists shortly after his nomination.
Central to Lukooya’s campaign is youth empowerment, where he plans to revive Mukono’s pioneer call center project, initially launched during his tenure to create jobs but now reduced to an internet café.
“If we have functional call centers, our youth won’t need to flood Arab countries for jobs. They can earn dollars right here,” he argued.
He also promised to reintroduce garbage recycling programs and restore supervision of Mukono Municipality, which he says is choking on dusty roads, poor lighting, and unmanaged waste.
Education and vocational skills training form another pillar of his agenda. He pledged to push for community-based vocational training through partnerships with workshops and garages, leading to certification through national trade testing bodies.
Other contenders for the LC5 seat expected to be nominated include: Rauben Ssenyonjo, (Independent) former district male youth chairperson and Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, former Mukono South MP on the NUP ticket. Their nominations shall set the stage for a competitive race in a district.
According to Mark Muganzi Mayanja, the Mukono District Returning Officer, the nomination exercise has so far been smooth.
“We’ve successfully handled all candidates who presented themselves. Where there were minor errors in forms, they were corrected on site. By midday, about 40 candidates on various positions had been nominated,” Mayanja said.
Nominations for district chairpersons and councillors will run until Friday, September 5, after which the process will shift to municipalities and later sub-counties.
Notably, Juliet Nassuuna, the newly elected National Vice Chairperson of the NRM Women’s League, was also nominated for the position of district councillor representing Nakisunga Sub- County.
With the nomination stage now underway, Mukono awaits a heated campaign season where service delivery, youth employment, and accountability are expected to dominate the agenda.
For Lukooya, the race is not just about a comeback but about proving that unfinished business from his first tenure can still be revived.
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