Ugandan Opposition Politician Zahara Luyirika Didn't Endorse President Museveni - Viral Image Doctored

18 November 2025
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Grace Gichuhi

Ugandan opposition politician Zahara Luyirika didn't endorse president Museveni - viral image doctored

IN SHORT: An image circulating online shows Zahara Luyirika of the National Unity Platform, Uganda's main opposition party, seemingly endorsing president Yoweri Museveni ahead of the 2026 elections. A reverse image search confirmed that the image was doctored. In the original photo, Luyirika was endorsing her party's leader, Robert Kyagulanyi.

An image circulating on Facebook shows Zahara Luyirika, Ugandan politician and speaker of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), holding a framed campaign poster featuring a photo of president Yoweri Museveni.

KCCA is a body that governs Uganda's capital city, Kampala.

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The image also features the text: "Hon Zahara Luyirika requests Ugandans to Vote HE Gen Yoweri Museveni come 2026."

In June 2021, Luyirika was elected KCCA speaker on the ticket of the National Unity Platform (NUP), the main opposition party in Uganda. NUP is led by Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, who is also the party's presidential candidate for the 2026 general election.

Luyirika has been a key figure in the party, representing it in Kampala, a stronghold of opposition politics.

Museveni is the leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and has been the country's president since 1986.

Uganda's 2026 election is expected to be closely contested between Museveni and opposition figures led by Kyagulanyi. If Museveni wins, it will mark his seventh term in office.

The claim began circulating soon after Luyirika received the NUP ticket to contest as the party's flagbearer for Makindye West constituency in the 2026 parliamentary elections. Makindye West is 7.6 kilometres from Kampala.

The circulating image suggests that Luyirika has defected from NUP to NRM, as she is endorsing Museveni.

This image has also been posted here, here, here, here and here.

But has Luyirika really shifted camp? We checked.

Manipulated image

If Luyirika had defected to NRM, it would have made headlines. But we found no reports of such a move.

A Google reverse image search of the image in question led us to Luyirika's Facebook profile, where we searched through her photos for the one featuring Museveni. However, we found a different photo.

On 16 October 2025, Luyirika posted the original photo on her official X and Facebook accounts. In it, she was holding the same frame, but with a different campaign poster featuring Kyagulanyi, not Museveni.

Luyirika has not joined NRM nor endorsed its presidential candidate, Museveni.

The circulating image was doctored to suggest that she shifted camp.

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Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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