Parliament has endorsed two National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates to fill Uganda’s vacant positions in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) after adopting the report of the Parliamentary Verification Committee.
The vacancies arose following the election of former EALA representatives Hon. James Kakooza and Hon. Dennis Namara to the 12th Parliament of Uganda.
Presenting the committee’s report during the House sitting on Thursday, 16 July 2026, chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth, the Chairperson of the Verification Committee, Hon. Dicksons Kateshumbwa (NRM, Sheema Municipality), said only two aspirants Stella Kiryowa and Fred Rwakaizi Bangumya submitted nomination papers by the 10 July 2026 deadline.
The committee established that both Kiryowa and Bangumya met the requirements provided for under Article 80 of the Constitution of Uganda and Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
The Speaker guided that the candidates introduce themselves and address the House before Members took a decision.
In her remarks, Kiryowa said she had started as a young girl in the corridors of Parliament and was now standing as an adult ready to shape the destiny of the more than 300 million people of the East African Community.
“It is no longer a question of whether East Africa can unite. The question before us today is: what kind of East Africa are we leaving for the next generation?” she said.
On his part, Bangumya said Uganda occupies a strategic and influential position in advancing the four pillars of the East African Community. He pledged to promote cross-border trade and support the development of sustainable regional infrastructure.
Speaker Oboth guided that since only two positions were available for Uganda’s representatives to EALA and only two candidates had been nominated and duly seconded unopposed, there was no need for a secret ballot.
The pair will now join Uganda's current seven representatives who include, honourables Rose Akol Okullu, Paul Mwasa Musamali, George Stephen Odongo, Mary Mugyenyi, Gerald Blacks Siranda, Jacquiline Amongin, and Veronica Babirye Kadogo at the Arusha-based assembly.
