By Kabuye Ronald
In a dramatic and unexpected twist, Hon. Mubarak Munyagwa Sserunga, the outspoken politician and former legislator FOR Kawempe South, was officially nominated today as the flag bearer for the Common Man’s Party (CMP) in Uganda’s 2026 general elections, becoming the seventh presidential candidate to be duly cleared by the Electoral Commission.
Munyagwa’s nomination comes after a tense and uncertain week, during which he struggled to collect the required 100 signatures from at least 98 districts, a constitutional prerequisite for presidential nomination. However, with just hours to the deadline, his team reportedly managed to secure the final batch of endorsements an effort he attributed to the party’s grassroots mobilization.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey, but we endeavoured with the help of our grassroots level to sail through,” Munyagwa told journalists shortly after his nomination.
The CMP’s campaign theme “Justice for All” reflects Munyagwa’s populist tone and policy platform. At the heart of his message is a call for equal distribution of national resources across all regions, seeking to dismantle what he terms a long-standing system of economic imbalance.
In an unconventional policy proposal, Munyagwa announced his party’s plan to replace Swahili with French as the country’s secondary language, arguing that Uganda must reposition itself towards global markets beyond East Africa.
“We cannot continue treating Kenya as a big brother while it views the rest of us as third-world,” he said, criticizing what he sees as inequality within the East African Community (EAC). “This union needs a serious review if we are to move forward together.”
Munyagwa also called for the release of opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is currently detained on treason charges. He described Besigye as a “freedom fighter being persecuted for speaking truth to power,” and pledged to prioritize political freedoms and civil rights if elected.
In foreign and defense policy, Munyagwa committed to conducting a comprehensive review of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces’ (UPDF) role in external military operations, questioning the long-term impact and legal grounding of Uganda’s military engagements abroad.
