Kalungu East Member of Parliament-elect Yusuf Jr Kiluluuta Nkeretanyi has claimed he narrowly escaped death on Wednesday evening after he was allegedly ambushed by a group of armed men in Lukaya Town Council, Kalungu District.
In a statement posted on his social media platforms shortly after the incident, Mr Nkeretanyi said the attack occurred at around 6:30pm as he was driving from the National Unity Platform (NUP) offices to his home, having spent the day monitoring local government elections for NUP flag bearers in the area.
“I was ambushed by a group of about six armed men who identified themselves as aides to my former competitor,” Mr Nkeretanyi wrote, referring to former Defence minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, whom he defeated in the recent parliamentary elections.
According to the MP-elect, the assailants, some riding boda bodas, were armed with machetes and sticks and pursued him after he attempted to flee by making a sudden U-turn. He said he later abandoned his vehicle at a garage in Lukaya after realising the group was “unrelenting” in its pursuit.
“I miraculously managed to escape on a boda boda and I’m now somehow safe,” he said, adding: “I can’t even believe that I’m still alive.”
Mr Nkeretanyi claimed the attackers intended to kill him and described the incident as evidence of what he called the growing militarisation of politics.
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“It’s very unfortunate that individuals we competed with have turned politics into a do-or-die game,” he wrote. “We are doomed as a country if people are baying for the blood of their political opponents.”
The incident comes at a time of heightened political tension in Kalungu East, where the election outcome remains contested. Mr Ssempijja has since petitioned court challenging Mr Nkeretanyi’s victory, citing alleged electoral irregularities.
By press time, police had not yet issued an official statement confirming the incident or whether any suspects had been identified or arrested. Efforts to reach Mr Ssempijja or his aides for comment were unsuccessful.
Political analysts warn that unless allegations of violence are promptly and transparently handled, such incidents risk further polarising communities already strained by disputed election outcomes.
Mr Nkeretanyi said he remains shaken but grateful to be alive, ending his statement with a prayerful note: “Oli munene nnyo Katonda” (God is truly great).
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