The discrepancies persist nearly five months after the 12th Parliament began its term on May 25, 2026, following the swearing-in of newly elected legislators earlier that month.
Parliament is facing questions over the accuracy of its online records after its official members’ directory continued to list former legislators as current Members of Parliament months into the transition to the 12th Parliament.
A review of Parliament’s online members’ database found former legislators, including Ronald Balimwezo, Joyce Bagala and Dr Abed Bwanika, listed under the National Unity Platform (NUP) section labelled “Current Members of Parliament”.
Balimwezo, who represented Nakawa Division East in the 11th Parliament, is now Kampala Lord Mayor-elect. Bagala, a journalist who represented Mityana District as a woman MP, and Bwanika, the former Kimaanya-Kabonero Division MP, also appear in the online party directory.
The entries include their former constituencies and political affiliations, potentially misleading members of the public seeking to establish who currently represents particular areas in Parliament.
The discrepancies are particularly significant because Parliament’s website serves as an official source of information for citizens, researchers, journalists and public institutions seeking details about elected representatives.
The online directory is organised by political party and provides information about legislators, including their names, constituencies and party affiliations.
However, retaining former MPs under a heading that identifies them as current legislators raises questions about how the institution updates its records after elections.
The discrepancies persist nearly five months after the 12th Parliament began its term on May 25, 2026, following the swearing-in of newly elected legislators earlier that month.
The problem is not limited to individual profiles. Parliament’s party-membership pages carry the heading “Current Members of Parliament” while displaying names and constituency details associated with the previous Parliament. The NUP directory, for instance, includes Balimwezo, Bagala and Bwanika.
Parliament’s online directory also lists other legislators under the same heading.
Parliament’s own composition page records the new House and its membership, making the continued appearance of former legislators in the online directory a matter of public information accuracy.
Grace Gidudu, Parliament’s Acting Director of Communication and Public Affairs, acknowledged the discrepancy, saying the website should have reflected the updated list of MPs.
“It must be an error. Let me look into it and see what is happening,” Gidudu said.
She suggested that the problem could be linked to an older database being uploaded to the website inadvertently.
“I think there is an older database that from time to time gets uploaded by mistake, but we need to look into it as well,” she said.
Gidudu said she would investigate the matter to establish why the website was still displaying outdated information.
The persistence of the entries raises questions about the processes used to update Parliament’s digital records following elections and whether checks are in place to ensure that outdated information is not republished.
Accurate parliamentary records are important for constituents seeking to identify their representatives, as well as journalists, researchers and organisations tracking legislative activity. Outdated listings can also complicate efforts to establish legislators’ current constituencies and political affiliations.
Parliament has not yet publicly explained how many entries are affected, when the database was last comprehensively updated or when the discrepancies will be corrected.