Kakooza wins EALA race unopposed to replace late Kasamba

By Francis Lubega

26^th July 2021

The report submitted by the verification committee of Parliament on the nominated candidates for the East African Legislative Assembly-EALA by-election recommended James Kakooza as an unopposed candidate for the vacant slot.

Mathias Kasamba, who was one of the nine representatives elected in December 2017 died in April after being admitted at Kampala hospital for three days having earlier collapsed at his home.

However, by the time of his death, Kasamba’s term was still left with more than a year to end in December 2022 and consequently, Uganda had to get a replacement.

On Monday, a total of 183 MPs in Uganda’s parliament voted Kakooza who stood unopposed in the by-election.

This was after the Deputy Speaker Anita Among put the matter to a vote where the MPs supported the election of Kakooza as Uganda’s 9^th representative at the regional assembly.

Before that process, the committee chairperson Fox Odoi disclosed to MPs that Kakooza and Gilbert Agaba were the only contestants but they only approved Kakooza because he was the candidate nominated by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party which lost its member Mathias Kasamba, whose position had to be filled by an NRM candidate as it was guided by the speaker Jacob Oulanyah.

Kakooza while speaking to Members of Parliament noted that the exercise proves Uganda’s commitment to the integration of the East African region.