On September 19, Kiyimba again featured prominently when a PLU exercise in Masaka City gathered signatures from more than 3,200 local leaders in support of Gen. Muhoozi’s proposed 2031 presidential bid.
As the political contest surrounding the Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament seat continues to attract attention, the name of Sarah Kiyimba, the Resident District Commissioner of Rakai, has increasingly featured in discussions about the constituency’s future.
Kiyimba has been linked to efforts to challenge State Minister for Local Government and Masaka City Woman MP Justine Nameere, amid an escalating public disagreement between Nameere and Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
However, while some reports and political actors have presented Kiyimba as a possible successor or preferred candidate, there is no publicly verified announcement establishing that Gen. Muhoozi has formally selected her as his candidate for the Masaka City Woman MP seat. Recent reporting has instead documented Kiyimba’s growing role within the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and her political activities in Greater Masaka.
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From business family to public service
Sarah Kiyimba is a member of the prominent Kiyimba family in Masaka. She is associated with the family behind Hotel Brovad, one of the city’s longstanding businesses.
Older profiles of the family describe her as having a background in business and hospitality. In 2020, Daily Monitor reported that Kiyimba had a degree in Tourism and Hospitality and was managing Hotel Brovad and other family establishments.
Her public career later moved into government administration. Kiyimba has served as the Rakai Resident District Commissioner, representing the Office of the President at district level. Recent reporting continues to identify her as the Rakai RDC.
As RDC, her responsibilities have included government programme monitoring, coordination with security agencies and local authorities, and addressing community concerns.
One of the issues that has featured prominently in her public work is land conflict. In 2025, Daily Monitor reported that Kiyimba intervened in a dispute involving about 800 households in Rakai who faced a threatened eviction. The residents had complained to her office over a longstanding land dispute.
Her approach to land disputes has also featured in more recent profiles, which describe her as an official who has taken an active interest in fighting land fraud and resolving conflicts.
An earlier political ambition
Kiyimba is not new to elective politics.
In the 2021 General Election, she contested for the Nyendo-Mukungwe parliamentary seat on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket. She lost to then-NUP candidate Mathias Mpuuga.
Mpuuga received 26,810 votes while Kiyimba polled 11,238. The race also attracted Democratic Party candidate Fred Mukasa Mbidde and several independent candidates.
Kiyimba’s political ambitions resurfaced ahead of the 2026 elections. In 2024, she was among people who had expressed interest in contesting the Nyendo-Mukungwe seat. At the time, NRM leaders in the area said they remained confident in her political prospects.
She did not, however, contest the Nyendo-Mukungwe seat in the 2026 election.
Instead, the NRM fielded Justine Nameere for the Masaka City Woman MP race. Nameere was declared the winner after a recount, although her victory is currently being challenged in court by NUP candidate Rose Nalubowa.
Kiyimba’s growing role in PLU
Kiyimba’s political profile has also expanded through her association with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).
In April 2026, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s organisation assigned Kiyimba the Patriotic Officer number PO 035. The recognition was announced during PLU activities in the Greater Masaka region.
She has since taken on a leadership role in the organisation’s mobilisation activities in Greater Masaka.
Recent reports identify her as the PLU Women’s League leader for Greater Masaka. On September 18, she participated in the launch of a PLU mobilisation drive in Masaka City and publicly reaffirmed the women’s support for Gen. Muhoozi.
On September 19, Kiyimba again featured prominently when a PLU exercise in Masaka City gathered signatures from more than 3,200 local leaders in support of Gen. Muhoozi’s proposed 2031 presidential bid.
The exercise was held at Hotel Brovad and was led by Kiyimba in her capacity as PLU women’s leader for Greater Masaka, according to reports from the event.
Her involvement in the mobilisation has consequently placed her increasingly at the centre of PLU activities in Masaka.
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Why her name is being linked to Nameere
Kiyimba’s name has surfaced at a time when the relationship between Gen. Muhoozi and Nameere has become increasingly strained.
Gen. Muhoozi has publicly criticised Nameere and threatened to travel to Masaka to campaign for a candidate of his choice against her. He has also demanded an apology from the minister over remarks contained in a video that circulated online.
Nameere subsequently apologised to Gen. Muhoozi, saying the video had been maliciously edited and that she had not intended to attack him.
Amid that dispute, reports from Masaka have indicated that some political actors are discussing Kiyimba as a possible challenger to Nameere in the next electoral cycle. Bukedde, for example, recently reported that some NRM figures had begun pushing for Kiyimba to contest the Masaka City Woman MP seat in 2031.
However, if Nameere loses the court case and a re-election is ordered, Kiyimba is also seen as an immediate challenger, given her backing from the PLU and many NRM leaders in Masaka who are reportedly at odds with Nameere.
The development is significant because Kiyimba already has an established political and administrative network in Greater Masaka and has become increasingly visible through PLU mobilisation.
But is she officially Muhoozi’s candidate?
That remains an open question.
While Kiyimba’s close involvement in PLU activities and her public support for Gen. Muhoozi are documented, the sources reviewed do not show a formal declaration by Gen. Muhoozi naming her as his candidate for the Masaka City Woman MP seat.
Her political association with Muhoozi is nevertheless becoming increasingly visible. In April, she was among the PLU figures given official Patriotic Officer numbers, and in September she has led major mobilisation activities for the organisation in Masaka.
For now, Kiyimba therefore occupies an interesting position: she is an experienced government administrator, a member of a prominent Masaka business family, a former parliamentary candidate, and an increasingly visible PLU mobiliser in Greater Masaka.
Whether those roles eventually translate into an electoral bid for the Masaka City Woman MP seat—and whether she would contest against Nameere—will depend on future party decisions, candidate nominations and Kiyimba’s own declaration.
What is already clear is that her political visibility in Masaka has increased considerably, placing her name among those being discussed as the political contest around the city Woman MP seat enters a new phase.
