Misleading: TikTok Video Misrepresents Byabakama’s Remarks on Kalangala By-Election

A video clip has been shared on Ugandan TikTok alleging that the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Simon Byabakama is “happy” about an impending by- election in Kalangala District following the death of Hon. Helen Nakimuli, which is misleading. 

The video, together with another social media user on Facebook, suggests that Byabakama expressed excitement about the by-election and that preparations are underway.

The clip shared by News247live accumulated 332 likes, 9 comments, 52 saves and 315 shares. In the video, the anchor claims Byabakama laughed amidst his address about the recent demise of 
Kalangala Woman MP, Nakimuli. A clip in the video also has text that reads: “The way Byabakama is happy Olemwa”. 

A by election is a special election held to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.

A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumbent’s death or resignation, or when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office or when an election is invalidated by voting irregularities. 

Facts
Kalangala district lost their Woman MP, Hon. Nakimuli on April 19, 2026 due to an unsuccessful operation as reported here, here, here and here.

The creator cued Byabakama in the video however, in the video clip used, Byabakama does not express any personal emotion about the situation. He simply states a factual position that Kalangala District currently has no Woman Member of Parliament, even as the swearing-in of MPs approaches in May. 

Evidence

The video clip

The narrator asserts that Byabakama is “happy” about the by-election, so we did a search about the claim using the Debunk Infor Verfier using key words “Is Byabakama happy about the impending Kalangala by election” and results showed that Byabakama expressed a somber tone regarding the impending Kalangala by-election, due to the circumstances surrounding it not as claimed by  News247live.

The tool also revealed that Byabakama conveyed his condolences to the family of the late MP Nakimuli, described her passing as a significant loss for both the district and the nation and acknowledged the necessity of holding a by-election to fill the vacancy, pointing out the urgency of the situation as the current parliamentary session is ending soon as referred to in articles by ChimpReports and Pulse Uganda.

As head of the Electoral Commission, such statements fall within his mandate to explain institutional realities and electoral procedures. At no point does he indicate that he is pleased about the situation. 

So next, we performed a Google reverse image search on a screenshot of Byabakama to find the full clip for context and results showed matches here, and here. We learnt that Byabakama was clarifying the process for filling the Kalangala District Woman MP seat following the tragic death of Hon. Nakimuli and not that he was happy about the incident.

The caption

News247live also added a very long caption to accompany the video where they claim that the by elections in Kalangala have started.

The following caption has been reproduced as originally written, including spelling and grammatical errors: “Breaking news, By Election preparations begin a midst nation a wide mourning for Hon Hellen Nakimuli, Simon Byabakama tells the people of Kalangala district to get ready for by Elections. The group of National Unity platform they not agree with Byabakama, coz they have said that Museveni’s Legitimacy they know about Hon Hellen’s death and they said no by Elections and they speak the truth about Hon Hellen Nakimuli…” Reads the caption

We therefore did a search about the claim using the words “have Kalangala by elections started?” and the results showed that the by-elections in Kalangala have not yet started, but they are set to occur following the death of the incumbent Woman Member of Parliament, Nakimuli, on April 19, 2026. 

Media Monitoring

We did media monitoring which confirmed that the by election has not yet started. In an address reported by Daily Monitor and UBC, Byabakama explained the constitutional procedure that must be followed before a by-election can take place. He noted that the Electoral Commission is still waiting for parliament to formally notify them of the vacancy, a step that must happen before the process can begin.  

“…under the law once a vacancy occurs through parliament  either through death or court process or through the resignation of the Member of Parliament, the constitution requires that the clerk to parliament should notify the Electoral Commission within ten days of the occurrence of that vacancy, and the Electoral Commission is there after required  to hold a by election to fill that vacancy within sixty days from the day of notification from the clerk to parliament. Now in this particular instance as the Electoral Commission we are still waiting for parliament to notify us.” Byabakama  told the media.

What the Constitution says

Article 81. explains the election of Members of Parliament, and clause (2) of the constitution states:

Whenever a vacancy exists in Parliament, the Clerk to Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within ten days after the vacancy has occurred; and a by-election shall be held within sixty days after the vacancy has occurred.

The Source

We also examined the source of the information, we learnt that bio states that the account is a source of news. It reads: “Ugandan news and the nearest countries, news influencer 247 live breaking news update join the journey am active very sirius 24 all the time all the day👁️”

We therefore expect news that is accurate, well sourced and objectively presented; however, the account spreads false information like this claim and should not be trusted as a source of news.

Methodology

We verified the claim by conducting an analysis on the video, Source and caption of the claim. We used the Debunk Info Verifier tool, Google reverse image search, media monitoring.  

The Info Verifier Tool

We used the tool to find out the legitimacy of a by-election claim in Kalangala. We used it to verify both the claim in the video and the caption. The results from the  video indicated that Byabakama expressed a somber tone regarding the impending Kalangala by-election and the fact that he sent his condolences to the late Hon. Nakimuli’s family.

We also applied the same tool on the caption and the results showed that the by elections had not yet started.

Google Reverse Image search

For context on the clip used in the TikTok we took a screenshot of it and performed a Google reverse image search on it and we found matches. In these we learnt that he was simply voicing the process of filling the vacant  Kalangala Woman MP seat according to the law. 

Media Monitoring

After the death of the Kalangala Woman MP, a by-election is in order. So we did media monitoring to know for sure if there are any confirmed reports about the start of a by-election in Kalangala and they confirmed that the by-election had not yet started. We found a report by the Monitor where Byabakama confirmed that the process had not yet started and were still waiting on parliament before they could start. 

Source credibility

When we looked through the source’s account to evaluate its credibility we learnt that it is not a reputable media house or identify a named journalist or authority on news in Uganda. 

Verdict
Misleading: The TikTok video by News247live has misrepresented Byabakama’s remarks on Kalangala By-Election address. The creator falsely attributes emotion to Byabakama and announcing the start of by-election preparations while he was only stating a factual situation.  

This fact-check was produced by NAMAJJA ELIZABETH with support from the Debunk Media Initiative and BBC Media Action.