Exposed!! How Anita Among Was Declared Unopposed After Her NUP Opponent Got Abducted On Nomination Day

Bukedea District was thrown into political controversy on Thursday evening after the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among, was officially declared unopposed for the position of Bukedea District Woman Member of Parliament (MP). What could have been a routine electoral announcement quickly turned into a storm of accusations, with opposition parties decrying what they described as a campaign marred by intimidation, disappearances, and deliberate obstruction of political rivals.

A Sudden Disappearance That Sparked Outrage

Tension escalated when the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s leading opposition party, reported that its parliamentary flag bearer, Asio Florence, mysteriously went missing just hours before her scheduled nomination on Wednesday.

According to NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, Asio vanished while travelling from Soroti to Bukedea together with several members of her campaign team.

“The whereabouts of our candidate for Bukedea Woman MP, Asio Florence, are unknown,” Kyagulanyi said in a statement. “Her phone and those of the comrades she was travelling with are all switched off. We’re in touch with their relatives who are desperately looking for them.”

The opposition leader expressed deep concern that the disappearance was politically motivated, linking it to a wider pattern of suppression of opposition voices ahead of the 2026 elections.

To make matters worse, NUP also reported that Mercy Marion Alupo, another party official who had been waiting for Asio’s arrival at the Electoral Commission (EC) offices in Bukedea, also went missing around the same time. Her sudden disappearance added a chilling layer to an already tense situation.

Allegations of Threats, Surveillance, and Political Persecution

Before her disappearance, Asio had allegedly raised alarms about being followed and threatened by unidentified armed men. These men, according to reports shared by her party, had even targeted her family members.

Bobi Wine accused the Speaker of Parliament of using state machinery to silence or eliminate political opponents, describing Among’s unopposed declaration as a mockery of democracy.

“After committing all these crimes, Anita Among is chest-thumping that she is unopposed,” Kyagulanyi said. “Her unopposed declaration symbolises the death of democracy.”

Opposition supporters have since taken to social media, describing the Bukedea events as a scripted political drama designed to ensure Among’s uncontested victory.

A Trail of Disqualifications and Deletions

The controversy surrounding Among’s victory did not start with Asio’s disappearance. For weeks, Bukedea’s nomination process had been mired in confusion, disputes, and questionable disqualifications.

Earlier this month, three women aspirants — Mercy Marion Alupo (NUP), Norma Susan Otai (FDC), and Akol Hellen Odeke (Independent) — were all struck off the voters’ register by local parish tribunals. Opposition parties claim these decisions were politically motivated, aimed at clearing the path for Among to run unopposed.

When NUP eventually introduced Asio Florence as a replacement candidate, her abrupt disappearance on the eve of her nomination effectively sealed Among’s solo run for the seat.

Opposition Voices Cry Foul

In an interview with NTV, Norma Susan Otai of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) narrated how her own nomination attempt was blocked under suspicious circumstances.

“I had planned to get nominated on the opening day, just like Speaker Anita Among, but EC officials said that the machines had a fault and therefore could not nominate me,” Otai said. “I have been at the offices since 11 a.m., but the security officers have blocked us from entering without giving any clear explanation.”

Otai’s experience, she claimed, was part of a coordinated effort to ensure that no serious contender could challenge the Speaker.

A Declaration and a Deafening Silence

Hours after the reports of Asio’s disappearance emerged, the Electoral Commission announced that no other candidate had submitted nomination papers for the Bukedea Woman MP seat — a move that automatically declared Anita Among unopposed.

The announcement was met with jubilation among Among’s supporters but fury from opposition circles, who accused the authorities of stage-managing the entire process.

By press time, neither the Electoral Commission nor the Uganda Police Force had issued an official statement regarding the missing NUP candidate or the reported obstructions at the Bukedea nomination centre.

As the nation watches, questions continue to swirl about the integrity of Uganda’s electoral process and the increasing vulnerability of opposition candidates, particularly those daring to challenge powerful incumbents.

What was supposed to be a routine nomination week in Bukedea has now become a national debate — one that underscores the fragile state of democracy and political freedom in Uganda.