Why NUP's Kyagulanyi failed to campaign in Fort Portal

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National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s planned campaign rally in Fort Portal City on Tuesday did not take place.

This was after security forces repeatedly blocked and diverted his convoy, leading to chaotic scenes marked by teargas and gunshots fired in the air.

Kyagulanyi, who had earlier addressed supporters in Bunyangabu district, was scheduled to proceed to Fort Portal for his second rally of the day. However, his convoy was intercepted at several points along the Mubende–Fort Portal highway, with police insisting he was using an unapproved route.

The first diversion occurred at Kyenjojo, followed by several others as the two-time presidential candidate attempted to proceed. Kyagulanyi rejected the final diversion at Kahinju and instead parked his vehicle on the main road, causing a traffic standstill that lasted more than three hours.

As supporters gathered around his vehicle, security personnel fired teargas and live rounds in the air to disperse supporters, sparking panic among residents and travellers.

An attempt by Kyagulanyi to step out of his vehicle was blocked by Police and military officers who surrounded the campaign team. The NUP leader later accused security forces of deliberately sabotaging his campaign programme.

“Our people have remained peaceful, yet the Police and military continue to be violent,” he said in an earlier address. “My car has been blocked, but I will continue to walk on the roads of Uganda and follow the Electoral Commission programme.”

Kyagulanyi, who spent the previous night at his home in Magere before heading west, had planned three campaign stops in Kabarole, Bunyangabu and Fort Portal City. In the end, he only managed to hold one rally—at Busiita Primary School playground in Bunyangabu.

During that rally, he pledged to restore the railway system, improve the education sector and address youth unemployment if elected.

Local NUP leaders in Bunyangabu, including Woman MP aspirant Gladys Kabasinguzi, criticised what they termed as rising intimidation ahead of the 2026 general election, saying it was hampering mobilisation efforts.

According to the Electoral Commission schedule, Kyagulanyi was expected to campaign in Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa districts on Tuesday. 

Rwenzori zonal Police commander Denis Namuwoza defended the security operation that blocked Kyagulanyi’s convoy, saying the NUP candidate had refused to follow the approved campaign route despite being fully aware of the guidelines.

Namuwoza said the Police had “been flexible”, but that Kyagulanyi still declined to comply. “You know very well, but you have refused,” he said, adding that if Kyagulanyi had followed instructions, “I would be at the rally now”.

He insisted that the blocked road was not part of the designated route to the campaign venue. “I am not going anywhere else because the rally is right there. This is the main road to the rally,” he said.

Namuwoza urged officers to allow cameras to document the situation and warned that every security officer would be individually accountable for their actions. 

“Let the cameras capture that. Each one of them is on record. Each one will personally answer,” he said.