A custom WordPress theme designed and developed for Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s 2026 presidential campaign. The site serves as the central digital hub for campaign communications, event coordination, donation collection, and supporter mobilisation — built to handle sustained traffic spikes during rallies and media moments.
The challenge
Political campaign websites in Sub-Saharan Africa face a specific set of constraints: inconsistent bandwidth across supporter regions, high mobile usage, donation processing that must work across multiple currencies, and the need to update content in real time during fast-moving news cycles. Off-the-shelf themes fail on all four counts.
The solution
I built a custom WordPress theme from scratch with a mobile-first layout, lazy-loaded hero imagery, custom post types for events and press releases, and WooCommerce integration for merchandise and donations. The theme uses a restrained design system — bold typography, Uganda-flag accent colours, generous whitespace — to keep attention on the candidate’s message rather than the chrome.
What’s inside
- Custom post types for Events, Press Releases, Policy Positions, and Volunteer Opportunities
- Donation flow integrated with WooCommerce and mobile money gateways
- Supporter email capture linked to campaign CRM
- Multi-language support (English, Luganda)
- Load-optimised for 3G mobile networks common across East Africa