Verdict: NCHE verified Walukagga’s certificate while it was still valid.
Online debate continues over the role of the National Council for Higher Education. Critics accuse the council of poor judgment. They say the council cleared a document that the Electoral Commission later questioned.
Uganda Wired reviewed the records that emerged after Walukagga left the Busiro East parliamentary race.
Here are the facts from publicly available information. Walukagga sat the aptitude test at IUIU on 25 February 2023.
The university issued his mature age entry certificate on 12 June 2023. (Shown with a blue allow in the photo below) The certificate held a two year validity period. This placed the expiry date on 12 June 2025.
He visited the National Council for Higher Education on 11 June 2025. (Shown with a yellow allow in the photo below) The council verified his certificate on that date. The document was still valid because the final day had not passed.
Walukagga took the same certificate to the Electoral Commission in October. The validity period had already ended. The document had expired by the time he submitted it.
The timeline shows a clear gap. The council verified a valid document. Months later, the document reached the Electoral Commission after its validity had closed.
Those are the facts, and the National Council verified the document while it was still valid.
Regarding whether the document can serve as a Senior Six equivalent for nomination, the NCHE has confirmed that it cannot. Some people, however, continue to dispute this. Lawyers such as Male Mabirizi take a different position. The matter may ultimately be clarified by the courts if it is brought before them.
