PARTLY FALSE: Viral TikTok Claim That Allan Ssewanyana Has Joined NRM and Was Welcomed by Speaker Among
Background:
Following Uganda’s January 2026 general elections, several opposition figures have crossed over to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), triggering a wave of social media posts, some accurate, some exaggerated, and some entirely fabricated, about who has defected and under what circumstances.
Claim:
A TikTok video posted by the account @serious..black on February 21, 2026, displays a photo of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and Allan Ssewanyana standing together in what appears to be Speaker Among’s office, with a Luganda caption claiming that opposition members who lost in the 2026 elections have been joining NRM, that Yusuf Nsibambi has already joined, and that Allan Ssewanyana has now also joined NRM and was welcomed by Speaker Among. The post attracted 7,591 likes, 506 comments, and 641 shares at the time of our review.
Because the claim combines a verified event, Nsibambi’s defection, with an unverified one about Ssewanyana and uses an image to support the claim, we investigated what is actually true.
Findings:
Our investigation shows this claim is PARTLY FALSE. The claim that Nsibambi joined the NRM is verified and accurate.
However, the claim that Allan Ssewanyana has joined NRM is unverified and unsupported by any credible evidence.
What Is True: Yusuf Nsibambi Did Join NRM
Mawokota South MP Yusuf Nsibambi officially crossed from the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to the ruling NRM on February 18, 2026. Dressed in NRM’s signature yellow, he was received at the NRM headquarters by Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong. Nsibambi said he was joining the NRM willingly as part of “the struggle for peace” and pledged to undertake any task assigned by the party.
What Is False: No Verified Evidence That Allan Ssewanyana Has Joined NRM
The claim that Allan Ssewanyana has joined NRM and was welcomed by Speaker Among is not supported by any verified evidence. We searched for credible media reports confirming Ssewanyana’s defection to the NRM and found none.
Ssewanyana, who has represented Makindye West since 2016, lost the NUP flag for the 2026-2031 parliamentary term after the party awarded it to Zahara Luyirika. He subsequently declared an independent bid, saying, “I was persecuted, embarrassed, beaten, mistreated, and imprisoned. It hurts me that I was denied the NUP card, yet I was planning to use this term to work for my people in Makindye.” There is no credible report placing him at NRM headquarters or confirming any defection.
Debunk Info Verifier Tool Search Results
We used the Debunk Info Verifier tool to search for the claim using the keywords “Allan Ssewanyana joins NRM and is welcomed by Anita Among”. The tool returned 10 results. Among the most relevant were an Africa-Press report headlined “Speaker Among Initiates Former FDC Stalwarts into NRM”, and a Chimpreports article headlined “Anita Among Delivers FDC’s Yusuf Nsibambi to NRM”.
While both articles confirm that Speaker Among has been involved in receiving opposition figures into NRM, neither article mentions Allan Ssewanyana.
The Africa-Press article documents the defection of Eunice Namatende and journalist Simon Muyanga Lutaaya in Busoga, while the Chimpreports article specifically covers Nsibambi’s crossing, a separate and verified event.
We also queried the DebunkBot directly with the same keywords. It responded: “There is no verified evidence to support the claim that Allan Ssewanyana has joined the National Resistance Movement (NRM) or was welcomed by Speaker Anita Among.” The DebunkBot noted that while similar claims about politicians switching to NRM exist, none specifically address Ssewanyana and that the claim should be treated with caution due to reliance on unverified information.
The Image Cannot Be Verified in Context.
The photograph shown in the TikTok video depicts Speaker Anita Among and Allan Ssewanyana standing together in what appears to be Speaker Among’s office.
However, a reverse image search could not trace the image to any verified original media source. It appears exclusively on social media posts, including facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram, each with a different caption and claim attached to the same photo. The oldest post we could trace was published on X on February 18, 2026, by the account @mzeekayiirya, with no caption establishing the context of the meeting. The existence of the photo does not confirm that the visit was related to an NRM defection. Without a verifiable, original context from the source establishing when the photo was taken, why the meeting occurred, and in what capacity Ssewanyana was present, the image cannot be used as evidence that he has joined the NRM.
The Broader Context: Opposition Defections Are Real, But Being Exaggerated Online
The video’s framing that opposition members who lost elections are making a “tendency” to join the NRM reflects a real trend. Nsibambi’s defection reinforces a growing narrative promoted by the ruling establishment that Uganda’s opposition is steadily losing strategic ground, with NRM party strategists openly projecting a future where the opposition could become drastically weakened before the 2032 electoral cycle. However, this real trend is being exploited on social media to circulate unverified claims about specific individuals crossing over, claims that cannot be confirmed by credible reporting.
Methodology
To verify this claim, we applied a structured fact-checking process combining the Debunk Info Verifier tool, credible media searches, image verification, and account review.
Debunk Info Verifier Tool
We used the Debunk Info Verifier tool to search for the claim using the keywords “Allan Ssewanyana joins NRM and is welcomed by Anita Among.” The tool returned 10 results, including an Africa-Press report and a Chimpreports article, both confirming Speaker Among’s role in receiving opposition figures into NRM, but neither mentioning Ssewanyana. We also queried the DebunkBot directly with the same keywords, and it returned no verified evidence supporting the claim.
Credible Media Search
We searched credible Ugandan media outlets for any report confirming that Ssewanyana defected to or was welcomed by NRM. No such report was found. The only results linking Ssewanyana to NRM were social media posts making the same unverified claim.
Verdict: Partly False
The claim that Allan Ssewanyana has joined NRM and was welcomed by Speaker Among is PARTLY FALSE. Nsibambi’s defection to NRM on February 18, 2026, is verified and accurate. However, no credible evidence supports the claim that Ssewanyana has joined NRM. The image used in the post appears exclusively on social media with varying captions and cannot be independently verified, and no credible media outlet has reported Ssewanyana’s defection. The post exploits a real and documented political trend to attach an unverified claim about a specific individual. Always verify claims against original and credible sources before sharing.
This fact-check was produced by Masai Joel with support from The Debunk Media Initiative and BBC Media Action.