Luyimbazi Nalukoola Elias

Luyimbazi Elias Nalukoola is a Ugandan lawyer, and politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency in Kampala from 13 March to 26 May 2025, after Justice Namanya Bernard nullified the election, declaring the position vacant.

He assumed office after being declared the winner of the by-election by the electoral commission with 17,764 votes on March 13, 2025 held after the death of the former MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya, in January 2025.

In January 2026, Nalukoola was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Kawempe North following the 2026 general elections.

Early life and education Elias Nalukoola went to Kawempe Islamic School, Kyerima Umea Primary School, and Kawempe Muslim Primary School for his primary school education. He joined St. Paul SS Mpererwe, then Kawempe Muslim Secondary School for his A-Level.

Legal career Nalukoola gained recognition as a human rights advocate for his courageous and eloquent defense of marginalized communities.

In February 2025, he was nominated by the National Unity Platform (NUP) as their candidate for the Kawempe North by-election, following the death of MP Muhammad Ssegirinya. During his nomination process, Nalukoola faced challenges, including alleged abduction of his aide and interference by security operatives. Despite these obstacles, he secured his nomination and subsequently won the by-election on March 13, 2025 against nine other contestants (including Nambi Faridah Kigongo [NRM], Hanifah Karadi Murerwa [Independent], Sadat Mukiibi aka Kalifa Aganaga [FDC], and Henry Mubiru Kasacca [DP]).

In the 2026 general elections, Nalukoola was declared the winner of the Kawempe North parliamentary seat. The announcement followed delays at the tally centre amid tensions between supporters of rival candidates. According to media reports, the returning officer later confirmed the results, after which the Electoral Commission formally announced him as the duly elected Member of Parliament for the constituency.

Controversies Nalukoola filed a lawsuit against the Ugandan government in March 2025, claiming that he was tortured by operatives of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce (JATT) during his nomination process. He is pursuing compensation and a public apology, claiming that his rights to dignity and freedom from torture were infringed upon. Nalukoola's path to becoming a member of Parliament was more complex, because the Electoral Commission could not seem to complete the process of officially publishing his name after his clear victory.

Even though he was declared winner, and the commission eventually announced him the winner within 18 hours after the polling stations had closed down, the important step of adding his name in the National Gazette still remained incomplete. This administrative issue prevented him from being able to move forward with the swearing-in ceremony. The situation led Nalukoola and some other National Unity Platform (NUP) representatives to confront the Electoral Commission, in what ended up becoming a protest meeting, as they tried to figure out why there was such an unusual delay in what should have been a much more straightforward process. This was after she received official communication from the Electoral Commission along with a copy of the gazetted results. The court of appeal gave Nalukoola until October 3, 2025 to compile his notes in the case with Faridah Nambi that seeks to nulify his parliamentary success in the Kawempe North constituency.