WAKISO, Uganda — Former Busiro South Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Matovu has died at the age of 41 after a sudden illness, the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has announced.
Matovu died on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after being transferred from Lubaga Hospital to Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, according to NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
Rubongoya said Matovu’s health deteriorated suddenly on Monday evening. He visited the former legislator at Lubaga Hospital on Thursday morning and found him in critical condition.
“This morning at Lubaga Hospital, I checked on Hon. Charles Matovu who was critically sick. His family informed us that he got an abrupt health challenge on Monday night,” Rubongoya said.
“When I saw him today, he couldn’t speak or open his eyes although he was still alive but struggling to wake up.”
Rubongoya later announced that Matovu had died after being transferred to Mulago for further medical investigations.
The cause of death had not been publicly disclosed in reports reviewed by Vivid Voice News.
NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, expressed shock at the death, describing Matovu as a brother, comrade and fellow leader who represented Busiro South during Uganda’s 11th Parliament.
Kyagulanyi also revisited the disputed January 2026 parliamentary election, alleging that Matovu’s victory had been taken “on gunpoint”. That was his characterisation of the election, which Matovu had challenged in court.
Matovu’s unfinished election petition
Matovu’s death came as he pursued a legal challenge against the election of National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Kenan Opio as Busiro South MP.
Matovu, who represented the constituency in Wakiso District from 2021 to 2026, lost his re-election bid in the January 15, 2026 polls.
According to court records reported by New Vision, Opio received 36,497 votes against Matovu’s 30,487. Matovu challenged the result, alleging that irregularities and non-compliance with electoral laws had substantially affected the outcome.
His petition raised concerns about electoral documents, including Declaration of Results forms, which he argued were relevant to establishing the integrity and accuracy of the vote count.
On September 25, 2026, the High Court in Entebbe dismissed a separate application in which Matovu sought access to additional electoral materials held by the Electoral Commission.
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Justice Jamson Karemani ruled that several requests lacked sufficient specificity, making it difficult to determine precisely which documents the commission was being asked to produce. The court also noted that Matovu had already received some certified results forms.
The ruling concerned the application for access to electoral materials, rather than the merits of the main election petition.
The substantive petition was scheduled for hearing from October 16, leaving Matovu’s challenge unresolved at the time of his death, according to reports on the court proceedings.
A former electrical engineer in Parliament
Born on April 1, 1985, Matovu was an electrical engineer by profession, according to his official profile on the Parliament of Uganda website.
He entered Parliament after winning Busiro South on the NUP ticket in the 2021 general election and served throughout the 11th Parliament.
His political career also unfolded amid tensions during the 2025–2026 election campaign. NUP reported in December 2025 that Matovu and members of his campaign team had been assaulted while campaigning in the constituency.
His death has prompted tributes from party leaders and colleagues, who have remembered his role in the opposition movement and his representation of Busiro South.
Funeral arrangements and further details about the circumstances surrounding his death had not been confirmed in the reports reviewed by publication time.
