Renowned businessman Andrew Ankunda Kikira has finally let the cat out of the bag and declared his intention to contest as Rukungiri Municipality Parliamentary seat in the 2026 general elections.
Ankunda made the announcement today Sunday 09th February 2025 during a press conference held at his home in Kihindi Rwakabengo, Southern division in Rukungiri municipality.
Ankunda revealed that he will be vying for the seat under National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket.
“I am glad to declare that I will be contesting for Rukungiri Municipality Parliamentary seat under the Ruling Party, NRM,” Ankunda said.
Ankunda is the grandson of late Cosia Kikira, who served as the first chairperson electoral commissioner in 1980 and as the secretary general for Kigezi Region.
Kikira also served as a district commissioner in various districts throughout the nation.
Andrew Ankunda Kikira was born alongside three other siblings to late parents David Nywana and Inid Kirabo.
According to Ankunda, he was born and raised in Rukungiri municipality, attending Kinyasano Boarding Primary School from P.1-P7 before joining his secondary education at Makobore High School from senior one to senior four.
After enrolling in Advanced level classes at Jinja, he later received a government scholarship to study political science and social administration at Makerere University.
Ankunda began a private media company that dealt with advertising, branding, and other information, communication, and technology-related businesses and he now decided to run for Rukungiri Municipality Member of Parliament.
He revealed that the people of Rukungiri municipality are worried about services that leaders could improve but haven’t, such as infrastructure, unemployment among youth, health, and education, among many other issues. These concerns pushed him to run for office.
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Ankunda continued by saying that it is very unfortunate that Rukungiri does not have a referral hospital, whereas Kabale, Bushenyi, and Kanungu, three nearby districts do.
He added that this is a major factor in providing health services to people, and that when elected; this will be one of his top priorities to lobby the government.
Ankunda revealed that transport and the number of deaths from individuals traveling to neighboring districts for these services will decrease when referral hospitals are brought to Rukungiri.
Additionally, when elected as their representative, Ankunda promised to equip and lobby for other health centers so that they can provide the services that people need.
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Ankunda further said that in 2012, he donated more than 60,000 coffee seedlings to the residents of Rukungiri municipality in the southern and eastern divisions. This was done to help the agricultural sector and it improved the source of income for most people, and have educated their children.
He claimed that as a person, he was raised in the business community and is well aware of the difficulties they encounter, and that if elected, he will voice their concerns in parliament.
The politician asserted that since he was a driving force behind the establishment of Rukungiri municipality, he will work on projects like roads, electricity, and safe and clean water access in the municipality, as well as improving household income by providing financial support to groups.
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Ankundaadvised Rukungiri Municipality residents to reject sectarianism and division driven by religious differences.
He emphasized the importance of unity among people particularly in politics encouraging them to actively participate in shaping their communities, stressing that identity-based politics should be avoided.
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Apparently, Andrew Ankunda Kikira and Counsel Isaac Atukunda are the first aspiring candidates to publicly declare their intentions of contesting for the Rukungiri Municipality MP seat and they are dominating over the area.
