The Electoral Commission has disqualified musician and politician Mathias Walukagga from the Busiro East parliamentary race, citing failure to meet the minimum academic requirements.
Walukagga was dragged to the EC tribunal by supporters of incumbent MP Medard Lubega Sseggona, who challenged the legitimacy of the mature-entry certificate he used during nomination—arguing it did not equate to an A-Level certificate as required by law.
According to an official EC letter dated November 25, 2025, addressed to Signature Advocates (lawyers for the petitioner), the dispute was based on a Mature Age/Aptitude Test certificate issued by the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU).
The certificate—issued after Walukagga sat for the exam on February 25, 2023 and scored 54%—carried an expiry date of June 12, 2025. The EC noted that Walukagga used the document on October 23, 2025, four months after it had expired.
“At the time the certificate of Mature Age/Aptitude Test was used for nomination by Walukaga Mathias on October 23, 2025, it had expired, thus rendering it invalid,”
reads the letter signed by Justice Simon Byabakama.
Walukagga’s lawyers argued that his ongoing university enrollment should have reinstated the certificate’s validity, but the Electoral Commission rejected the argument.
The decision now positions Medard Sseggona as the frontrunner to retain the seat, though he still faces competition from independent candidate Emmanuel Matovu Magoola and NRM’s Abdul Kiyimba.