Nominees await MPs’ approval before taking on new offices
ON Monday, President Yoweri Museveni handed over to the Speaker of Parliament the list containing nominees for ministerial posts. <b>Charles Etukuri</b> and <b>Apollo Mubiru</b> profiled some of the nominees.
ON Monday, President Yoweri Museveni handed over to the Speaker of Parliament the list containing nominees for ministerial posts. Charles Etukuri and Apollo Mubiru profiled some of the nominees.
Caleb Akandwanaho, aka Salim Saleh
That his name has featured on the cabinet list is no surprise. In an interview with one of the local radio stations, he said he expected to be named in the cabinet. He was an instrumental figure in the President’s re-election in the last election.
Saleh has been the Senior Presidential Advisor for the Reconstruction of the Luweero Triangle, Northern Uganda, and the Rwenzori region, a job he has tried to do well.
Until recently, he was the Reserve Forces Commander in the UPDF. He was promoted to general last year, soon after a year’s course in the Senior Command and Staff College in Kimaka, Jinja. He retired from the army and said he wanted to be closer to the people.
Saleh was a member of a committee set up by the army High Command to probe the ghost soldiers’ saga. In December 2003, he resigned as one of the 10 army MPs. It was not his first resignation. In 1998, he resigned as senior presidential adviser on defence and security, but bounced back as the reserve forces commander.
Saleh, 45, was the first army commander between 1986 and 1989 and a member of the Government’s peace team in the talks with LRA rebels.
He is well-versed in security and micro-finance matters that any of the two dockets would see his potential revealed more.
Kirunda Kivejinja
He is not a new comer in the cabinet. Of recent he described himself as a restored voice of Bugweri. He was trounced by Abdu Katuntu and missed out of the Seventh Parliament. He, however, made a major comeback in 2006.
His appointment to cabinet could largely be seen as a reward for defeating ‘poisonous mushroom’ Katuntu and bringing Bugweri into the hands of the NRM. He was also one of the founders of the NRM in the early 1980s and is on the NRM veterans committee.
Wambuzi Gagawala Nelson
He must be one of those still under shock and wondering how his name found itself on the cabinet list, not that he did not do well but his performance in the house was wanting.
He is known for interrupting debators who were criticising the NRM and moving points of order. He could even disrupt a debate on a budget speech to smuggle in his request for Kaliro district. He is known for complaining that without Kaliro becoming a district, the national cake was not equally shared. The deputy speaker had started referring to him as “Hon National Cakeâ€.
A mechanical engineer by profession, he was deputy chairperson works, housing and communications in the Seventh Parliament.
Lukia Issanga Nakadama
She was one of the mutest members of the Seventh Parliament. Her contribution was wanting and her elevation to cabinet comes as a surprise to many. A journalist at one time said if somebody staked sh1m and played her voice on radio, no one would win the money because nobody would recognise her voice.
In the Seventh Parliament she was a member of the appointments committee, agriculture, animal industry and fisheries. She holds a diploma in Customs, Clearing and Forwarding. The highest position she held before becoming MP was as a clearing agent and businesswoman.
Omara Atubo
He is a lawyer by profession. He served in Museveni’s government as state minister for security from 1987-1991, until he fell out with the government and went back to UPC. He was a UPC member until the last parliamentary elections when he was rigged out of the primaries and decided to stand as an independent.
Atubo is a good debater in Parliament. He has been a member of the presidential and foreign affairs committees, although not a regular member.
Eriya Kategeya
He is a historical member of the NRM. Before his sacking in 2003 for opposing the third term, he was the first deputy prime minister and minister of internal affairs. He was considered NRM de facto number two and seen by many as a principled person and a possible successor to the incumbent.
He gained prominence when he joined FDC as its envoy. He, however, did not campaign for Col Kizza Besigye after emissaries were sent to tell him to keep out of the FDC campaigns.
It is Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali and Miria Matembe who stood out and opposed the third term as others chorused it in Kyankwanzi. Whether he still stands by his words is another thing.
Kategeya is a long-time confidant of Museveni. The two went to school together, founded the NRM together and were active in the fight against dictatorship.
“Our sacking from the cabinet was to show that either you toe the line or you get out. I never believed Museveni would try to change the Constitution. If he wants it he should be honest enough to say so and give reasons. These tactics of dodging the question and hoping people do not see what he is doing – it is not something I expected from him,†Kategaya said after he was sacked.
He is a classic example of the fact that there are no permanent enemies in politics.
Malinga Steven
Since quitting UPC, his life has never been the same. The UPC-turned-Movement supporter has risen through the NRM ranks, winning the trust of the appointing authority.
Born in November 1943, the Butebo County MP is highly educated. A doctor by profession, he has served as a consultant with several international organisations. His appointment is largely seen as a reward for taking the bold step of joining NRM and tackling regional imbalance.
Serapio Rukundo Baryaremwa
He was not very impressive in the Seventh Parliament, but this notwithstanding, his region delivered highly to the NRM. He was one of the relatively active legislators in the last Parliament and is loyal to NRM.
Urban Tibamanya
Having defeated the ‘buffalo’ of Kashari, Maj. John Kazoora, his inclusion on the list of cabinet appointments came as no surprise. Kazoora was one of those who gave NRM a hard time. He opposed the third term and was an instrumental figure in FDC.
He has been a prominent lawyer in town and served on a number of commissions of inquiry, the most prominent being the Police commission of inquiry headed by Justice Julia Sebutinde.
Musa Ecweru
He is the Amuka strong man. He is one of the few NRM MPs who made it from Teso region. He is the darling of the locals and has been instrumental in the fight against incursions in Teso.
He was the Director of Finance and External Affairs in the Uganda People’s Army (UPA) rebel group that fought the NRM Government in the late 1980s, before being captured in Kawempe where he had sneaked to meet his family. He was taken to Soroti, kept at the UPDF 3rd Division tactical headquarters where he was used to convince other rebels to surrender and provide information that led to the arrest and capture of defiant rebels.
He later formed an NGO to help former rebels be integrated in society, before being appointed Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Soroti. He was later transferred to Lira in the same capacity, then taken to Nebbi, Gulu and Kasese as RDC, before withdrawing in 2003 to mobilise former UPA rebels to fight the LRA insurgents in Teso.
He left his job as RDC Nebbi and went to Teso at a time when the region needed him most and helped fight the LRA. He was once pictured caning Banyankole herdsmen and word went round that he had ruined his career bt doing ‘the unimaginable’. His inclusion on the list could be aimed at trying to woo the Teso votes. How well he will perform at this remains to be seen.
Alintuma Nsambu
He is the Bukoto East strongman and Bill Gates’ friend. He has been a vocal and loyal NRM cadre. He is a down to earth man who is loved by his constituents. His constituency probably has more computers than any other.
Born on March 26, 1973, he is one of the youthful faces that will be making it to the cabinet. In the Seventh Parliament he served on the presidential and foreign affairs committee. Although he was not that impressive in house debates, his loyalty is not questionable. He would do well in Information Technology.
Dorothy Hyuha
She was one of the kisanja heroines in the Seventh Parliament. She was recently appointed Deputy Secretary General of the NRM after the ladies complained to the chairman, President Museveni, that they were not being considered for influential positions.
Her elevation in NRM revealed milestones about how closer the lady from Butaleja had moved. In the last term it had been rumoured that she would be on the cabinet list but she never made it.
She has always had a controversial role. In mid-July 2004, she moved a motion to thank Museveni for what she called “an excellent state of the nation addressâ€. Then she left her back bench seat to occupy the front bench, normally reserved for ministers and chairpersons of committees when the latter are presenting reports.
Hyuha was not done; she remained on the front bench as other MPs chewed over her motion as if she was practising how to be a minister.
Hyuha has, on several occasions, defended and guided government programmes as if she was a member of the executive, causing questions to be asked on where she belongs; the legislature, executive or both! She is well-versed in education matters. She chaired the parliamentary sessional committee on social services for a long time.
Gabriel Opio
A former Minister of State for Finance, Opio was trounced by Simon Mayende, the former Minister for Higher Education. He went on to become Chairman, Makerere University Council.
He made a comeback in the NRM primaries, defeating Mayende. Mayende stood as an Independent, but Opio still trounced him. He is well-versed in finance and academic matters and could do well in any of the above fields.
James Kinobe
He was defeated in the NRM primaries but chose not to stand as an Independent. Instead he took a crucial role at the NRM headquarters in Kyadondo as party administrator. He was the chairperson of the Local Government accounts committee and is well versed in local government issues. He pressed chief administrative officers for accountability, creating a problem in his own district.
A soldier by profession, he has also served as loans and welfare officer in the UPDF and head of communication in the President’s Protection Unit.
Kagimu Kiwanuka
Born in a staunch Democratic Party family, he went to Parliament on a DP card but crossed the floor, having “seen the lightâ€. He is one of the controversial debators and an independent Movementist who will not fear criticising the NRM where he feels it necessary to do so.
Bright Rwamirama
At one time he was linked to the parliamentary pressure group Parliamentary Advocacy Forum (PAFO), but later quit after it turned political.
He chaired the parliamentary committee on finance in the Seventh Parliament, whose report has exposed many scandals in the procurement system in Government.
Fred Ruhindi
He was one of the core founders of PAFO but quit when it was hijacked by opposition MPs. His appointment as a minister is more of a reward to Kampala district and to him, having been the only NRM MP who retained his Nakawa constituency. A lawyer by profession, Ruhindi is well-versed in land issues and was appointed by the Speaker to chair a select committee that considered the Land Amendment Act in 2003.
Jessica Eriyo
If one of the considerations for constituting the cabinet was loyalty, it would be said this was the basis for Eriyo’s nomination. She was one of the MPs who were named “yellow girls†due to their dressing and role in the kisanja debate.
She has worked as a district population officer for Adjumani and a teacher at Kololo Secondary School. In her re-election, her opponent Clara Vuni was killed and her home razed. The elections were postponed but she still made it in a hostile FDC area. She is well-versed in education matters.
John Byabagambi
He is a chemical engineer who was once general manager of Mukwano Industries. Byabagambi has been vice-chairperson of the parliamentary committee on works. He is a no nonsense man. He at one time chaired a committee that detained an official from the IGG’s office, Silver Kangaho, when he refused to testify before the committee probing bus land wrangles in 2003. He joins cabinet with vast experience in the works sector.
David Wakikona
He is a trained pilot and former director of the East African Civil Aviation Academy. He was also the chief licensing and flight inspection officer in the Civil Aviation Authority. He is known to be a controversial MP who debates with a lot of zeal on issues to do with the eastern region. He lobbied for the creation of Manafwa district.
Sulaiman Madada
His appointment to the cabinet comes as a reward to Kayunga district. He is the second minister to hail from Kayunga, since the death of Samuel Sebagereka.
He has been the vice-chairperson of the NRM parliamentary caucus. Madada was once the Kayunga LC5 chairperson. He supports anything Movement.
Caleb Akandwanaho, aka Salim Saleh
That his name has featured on the cabinet list is no surprise. In an interview with one of the local radio stations, he said he expected to be named in the cabinet. He was an instrumental figure in the President’s re-election in the last election.
Saleh has been the Senior Presidential Advisor for the Reconstruction of the Luweero Triangle, Northern Uganda, and the Rwenzori region, a job he has tried to do well.
Until recently, he was the Reserve Forces Commander in the UPDF. He was promoted to general last year, soon after a year’s course in the Senior Command and Staff College in Kimaka, Jinja. He retired from the army and said he wanted to be closer to the people.
Saleh was a member of a committee set up by the army High Command to probe the ghost soldiers’ saga. In December 2003, he resigned as one of the 10 army MPs. It was not his first resignation. In 1998, he resigned as senior presidential adviser on defence and security, but bounced back as the reserve forces commander.
Saleh, 45, was the first army commander between 1986 and 1989 and a member of the Government’s peace team in the talks with LRA rebels.
He is well-versed in security and micro-finance matters that any of the two dockets would see his potential revealed more.
Kirunda Kivejinja
He is not a new comer in the cabinet. Of recent he described himself as a restored voice of Bugweri. He was trounced by Abdu Katuntu and missed out of the Seventh Parliament. He, however, made a major comeback in 2006.
His appointment to cabinet could largely be seen as a reward for defeating ‘poisonous mushroom’ Katuntu and bringing Bugweri into the hands of the NRM. He was also one of the founders of the NRM in the early 1980s and is on the NRM veterans committee.
Wambuzi Gagawala Nelson
He must be one of those still under shock and wondering how his name found itself on the cabinet list, not that he did not do well but his performance in the house was wanting.
He is known for interrupting debators who were criticising the NRM and moving points of order. He could even disrupt a debate on a budget speech to smuggle in his request for Kaliro district. He is known for complaining that without Kaliro becoming a district, the national cake was not equally shared. The deputy speaker had started referring to him as “Hon National Cakeâ€.
A mechanical engineer by profession, he was deputy chairperson works, housing and communications in the Seventh Parliament.
Lukia Issanga Nakadama
She was one of the mutest members of the Seventh Parliament. Her contribution was wanting and her elevation to cabinet comes as a surprise to many. A journalist at one time said if somebody staked sh1m and played her voice on radio, no one would win the money because nobody would recognise her voice.
In the Seventh Parliament she was a member of the appointments committee, agriculture, animal industry and fisheries. She holds a diploma in Customs, Clearing and Forwarding. The highest position she held before becoming MP was as a clearing agent and businesswoman.
Omara Atubo
He is a lawyer by profession. He served in Museveni’s government as state minister for security from 1987-1991, until he fell out with the government and went back to UPC. He was a UPC member until the last parliamentary elections when he was rigged out of the primaries and decided to stand as an independent.
Atubo is a good debater in Parliament. He has been a member of the presidential and foreign affairs committees, although not a regular member.
Eriya Kategeya
He is a historical member of the NRM. Before his sacking in 2003 for opposing the third term, he was the first deputy prime minister and minister of internal affairs. He was considered NRM de facto number two and seen by many as a principled person and a possible successor to the incumbent.
He gained prominence when he joined FDC as its envoy. He, however, did not campaign for Col Kizza Besigye after emissaries were sent to tell him to keep out of the FDC campaigns.
It is Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali and Miria Matembe who stood out and opposed the third term as others chorused it in Kyankwanzi. Whether he still stands by his words is another thing.
Kategeya is a long-time confidant of Museveni. The two went to school together, founded the NRM together and were active in the fight against dictatorship.
“Our sacking from the cabinet was to show that either you toe the line or you get out. I never believed Museveni would try to change the Constitution. If he wants it he should be honest enough to say so and give reasons. These tactics of dodging the question and hoping people do not see what he is doing – it is not something I expected from him,†Kategaya said after he was sacked.
He is a classic example of the fact that there are no permanent enemies in politics.
Malinga Steven
Since quitting UPC, his life has never been the same. The UPC-turned-Movement supporter has risen through the NRM ranks, winning the trust of the appointing authority.
Born in November 1943, the Butebo County MP is highly educated. A doctor by profession, he has served as a consultant with several international organisations. His appointment is largely seen as a reward for taking the bold step of joining NRM and tackling regional imbalance.
Serapio Rukundo Baryaremwa
He was not very impressive in the Seventh Parliament, but this notwithstanding, his region delivered highly to the NRM. He was one of the relatively active legislators in the last Parliament and is loyal to NRM.
Urban Tibamanya
Having defeated the ‘buffalo’ of Kashari, Maj. John Kazoora, his inclusion on the list of cabinet appointments came as no surprise. Kazoora was one of those who gave NRM a hard time. He opposed the third term and was an instrumental figure in FDC.
He has been a prominent lawyer in town and served on a number of commissions of inquiry, the most prominent being the Police commission of inquiry headed by Justice Julia Sebutinde.
Musa Ecweru
He is the Amuka strong man. He is one of the few NRM MPs who made it from Teso region. He is the darling of the locals and has been instrumental in the fight against incursions in Teso.
He was the Director of Finance and External Affairs in the Uganda People’s Army (UPA) rebel group that fought the NRM Government in the late 1980s, before being captured in Kawempe where he had sneaked to meet his family. He was taken to Soroti, kept at the UPDF 3rd Division tactical headquarters where he was used to convince other rebels to surrender and provide information that led to the arrest and capture of defiant rebels.
He later formed an NGO to help former rebels be integrated in society, before being appointed Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Soroti. He was later transferred to Lira in the same capacity, then taken to Nebbi, Gulu and Kasese as RDC, before withdrawing in 2003 to mobilise former UPA rebels to fight the LRA insurgents in Teso.
He left his job as RDC Nebbi and went to Teso at a time when the region needed him most and helped fight the LRA. He was once pictured caning Banyankole herdsmen and word went round that he had ruined his career bt doing ‘the unimaginable’. His inclusion on the list could be aimed at trying to woo the Teso votes. How well he will perform at this remains to be seen.
Alintuma Nsambu
He is the Bukoto East strongman and Bill Gates’ friend. He has been a vocal and loyal NRM cadre. He is a down to earth man who is loved by his constituents. His constituency probably has more computers than any other.
Born on March 26, 1973, he is one of the youthful faces that will be making it to the cabinet. In the Seventh Parliament he served on the presidential and foreign affairs committee. Although he was not that impressive in house debates, his loyalty is not questionable. He would do well in Information Technology.
Dorothy Hyuha
She was one of the kisanja heroines in the Seventh Parliament. She was recently appointed Deputy Secretary General of the NRM after the ladies complained to the chairman, President Museveni, that they were not being considered for influential positions.
Her elevation in NRM revealed milestones about how closer the lady from Butaleja had moved. In the last term it had been rumoured that she would be on the cabinet list but she never made it.
She has always had a controversial role. In mid-July 2004, she moved a motion to thank Museveni for what she called “an excellent state of the nation addressâ€. Then she left her back bench seat to occupy the front bench, normally reserved for ministers and chairpersons of committees when the latter are presenting reports.
Hyuha was not done; she remained on the front bench as other MPs chewed over her motion as if she was practising how to be a minister.
Hyuha has, on several occasions, defended and guided government programmes as if she was a member of the executive, causing questions to be asked on where she belongs; the legislature, executive or both! She is well-versed in education matters. She chaired the parliamentary sessional committee on social services for a long time.
Gabriel Opio
A former Minister of State for Finance, Opio was trounced by Simon Mayende, the former Minister for Higher Education. He went on to become Chairman, Makerere University Council.
He made a comeback in the NRM primaries, defeating Mayende. Mayende stood as an Independent, but Opio still trounced him. He is well-versed in finance and academic matters and could do well in any of the above fields.
James Kinobe
He was defeated in the NRM primaries but chose not to stand as an Independent. Instead he took a crucial role at the NRM headquarters in Kyadondo as party administrator. He was the chairperson of the Local Government accounts committee and is well versed in local government issues. He pressed chief administrative officers for accountability, creating a problem in his own district.
A soldier by profession, he has also served as loans and welfare officer in the UPDF and head of communication in the President’s Protection Unit.
Kagimu Kiwanuka
Born in a staunch Democratic Party family, he went to Parliament on a DP card but crossed the floor, having “seen the lightâ€. He is one of the controversial debators and an independent Movementist who will not fear criticising the NRM where he feels it necessary to do so.
Bright Rwamirama
At one time he was linked to the parliamentary pressure group Parliamentary Advocacy Forum (PAFO), but later quit after it turned political.
He chaired the parliamentary committee on finance in the Seventh Parliament, whose report has exposed many scandals in the procurement system in Government.
Fred Ruhindi
He was one of the core founders of PAFO but quit when it was hijacked by opposition MPs. His appointment as a minister is more of a reward to Kampala district and to him, having been the only NRM MP who retained his Nakawa constituency. A lawyer by profession, Ruhindi is well-versed in land issues and was appointed by the Speaker to chair a select committee that considered the Land Amendment Act in 2003.
Jessica Eriyo
If one of the considerations for constituting the cabinet was loyalty, it would be said this was the basis for Eriyo’s nomination. She was one of the MPs who were named “yellow girls†due to their dressing and role in the kisanja debate.
She has worked as a district population officer for Adjumani and a teacher at Kololo Secondary School. In her re-election, her opponent Clara Vuni was killed and her home razed. The elections were postponed but she still made it in a hostile FDC area. She is well-versed in education matters.
John Byabagambi
He is a chemical engineer who was once general manager of Mukwano Industries. Byabagambi has been vice-chairperson of the parliamentary committee on works. He is a no nonsense man. He at one time chaired a committee that detained an official from the IGG’s office, Silver Kangaho, when he refused to testify before the committee probing bus land wrangles in 2003. He joins cabinet with vast experience in the works sector.
David Wakikona
He is a trained pilot and former director of the East African Civil Aviation Academy. He was also the chief licensing and flight inspection officer in the Civil Aviation Authority. He is known to be a controversial MP who debates with a lot of zeal on issues to do with the eastern region. He lobbied for the creation of Manafwa district.
Sulaiman Madada
His appointment to the cabinet comes as a reward to Kayunga district. He is the second minister to hail from Kayunga, since the death of Samuel Sebagereka.
He has been the vice-chairperson of the NRM parliamentary caucus. Madada was once the Kayunga LC5 chairperson. He supports anything Movement.