Dr Hilderman will not sing for Amelia. No, he has even refused to acknowledge her victory in the January 15 polls.
The Mawokota North Member of Parliament Hilary Kiyaga, popularly known as Dr Hilderman, has rejected the outcome of the January 15 parliamentary elections that declared former minister Amelia Kyambadde the winner.
Kyambadde, contesting on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, was officially declared winner of the Mawokota North seat, defeating Dr Hilderman, who sought to retain it on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket in the 12th Parliament.
Addressing journalists, Dr Hilderman dismissed the results, accusing his rival of vote rigging and insisting that he had actually won.
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"I'm glad to let the nation know that I won the 2026 Mawokota seat with a margin of more than 7,000 votes against Amelia Kyambadde," he said.
Dr Hilderman indicated that the next steps would be guided by his party's leadership, noting that the matter extends beyond his personal interests.
"Many have been asking me what is next. I belong to NUP, and this is not only my cause but a party cause. So we have been waiting for communication from our party to see the way forward," he said.
He added that the party's top leadership would decide whether to challenge the results through legal avenues.
"We are seeking justice from the courts of law. So we are waiting to see if the party leads us there. We are ready for anything to ensure we claim what belongs to us," he stated.
Dr Hilderman first entered Parliament in 2021 when he defeated Kyambadde, who was then Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, on the NUP ticket.
At the time, Kyambadde accepted defeat, admitting that she had not done enough grassroots mobilisation.
Ahead of the 2026 elections, Kyambadde intensified her grassroots engagement, a move that political analysts say contributed to her reclaiming the seat.
During the campaign, she criticised Dr Hilderman for focusing on artistes' issues at the expense of constituents, pledging to restore what she described as proper representation.
"The people of Mawokota have been used to a certain decorum which over time we have seen lacking with Dr Hilderman. I was the first politician to concede loss to him mostly because I thought he had learnt from my mentorship, but as things stand, I think we shall have to reclaim the seat from him," Kyambadde said during a 2024 interview.
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Despite the official declaration, Dr Hilderman maintains that the election was marred by irregularities and insists that the dispute should be resolved by the courts.
