Ugandans, Disregard Fake Weekend Monitor Front Page About Electoral Commission and Election Results

26 May 2026
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Makinia Juma Sylvia

Ugandans, disregard fake Weekend Monitor front page about electoral commission and election results

IN SHORT: A front page doing the rounds online appears to show Uganda's Weekend Monitor newspaper reporting that the Uganda Electoral Commission admitted the 2026 election results were "cooked up". But this was not published by the newspaper.

An image that appears to be the front page of the Weekend Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper, has attracted attention on social media. It started circulating online in May 2026.

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The front page appears to be the weekend edition of Uganda's Daily Monitor, a reputable independent newspaper.

The circulating front page is headlined: "Why EC does not publish 2026 election results." It also features a photo of Ugandan justice Simon Byabakama, the chairperson of the electoral commission (EC).

The summary reads: "Hotseat; The 2026 general elections held on 15th January 2026, the results are not published on the Uganda Electoral Commission website despite demands from the public. Results were just cooked up."

The front page was shared on Facebook, X and TikTok in early May, amid heightened political interest surrounding the swearing-in ceremony of president Yoweri Museveni and the subsequent inauguration of elected members of parliament.

Uganda held its presidential and parliamentary elections on 15 January. The polls took place in a charged environment, with heightened political mobilisation and close public scrutiny of security deployments and alleged irregularities.

But did the Weekend Monitor run this headline? We checked.

Fake front page

The first sign that something is amiss is that the headline font is different to the one normally used by the newspaper.

The Daily Monitor publishes its front pages on its official Facebook and X accounts. Africa Check searched the newspaper's social platforms for the version circulating online, but could not find it.

Africa Check looked through the newspaper's X platform and found the genuine front page for the 2-3 May edition. The authentic front page headline reads: "Betrayal in the city?" It features images of National Unity Platform politicians Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, and Fred Ssentamu. The other stories on the front page remain unchanged.

The front page circulating on social media is fake and should be disregarded.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
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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