Meet Uganda's EALA MPs

By Joyce Namutebi

SUSAN NAKAWUKI (INDEPENDENT)
Formerly a member of the opposition FDC, Nakawuki, 28, stood as an independent in the 2011 parliamentary elections and lost to Mathias Mpuuga in Masaka Municipality.

She is currently known to lean to the ruling NRM. A lawyer, Nakawuki is a practicing lawyer with Ochieng and Company Advocates. She likes interacting with people, charity and seeing that equal privileges are provided to everybody. She is an anti-corruption campaigner.

DENNIS MUKASA MBIDDE (DP)
Mbidde (38) is a former guild president of Makerere University from 2001 to 2002. His election to EALA is a major breakthrough in his political career, having twice lost in the parliamentary elections. A Mass Communication graduate, Mbidde also holds a degree in law and is an advocate.  He is the DP Legal advisor and is known to have interest in real estate and forex business.

CHRIS OPOKA OKUMU (UPC)
A lawyer by profession, Opoka, 58, previously worked in Canada until 2005 when he returned to Uganda after death of former president Milton Obote. Subsequently, when Miria Obote became UPC president, she appointed him as assistant secretary general.  He also served as special envoy under Dr Olara Otunnu, but fell out. Not surprising Otunnu unsuccessfully tried to block his election to EALA.

 BERNARD MULENGANI (NRM)
Mulengani, 46, a statistician by profession, has been re-elected for his second term in EALA.  He started his political career as chairperson of Bugiri district Youth Council in 1994 up to 1997 before he was elected to the Seventh Parliament in 2001 representing Bukhooli Central up to 2006. First elected to EALA in 2007.

MARGARET NANTONGO ZZIWA (NRM)
Margaret Zziwa, 49, a holder of two masters' degrees as well as several other certificates, will be serving a second term in the regional assembly.  Before, she served as Kampala woman MP for two terms and member of the Constituent Assembly. Before joining elective politics, Zziwa, served as a teacher at Kololo senior Secondary School.

DAN FRED KIDEGA (NRM)
Kidega, 39, will be serving his second term in EALA. He previously served as an MP in Seventh Parliament (2001 to 2006) and Private Secretary to the Vice President from 2000 to 2001. Kidega was a chairman, National Youth Council and launched his career as a student leader in the 1990s. He has been active in NRM politics and was a member of President Museveni's national campaign taskforce in 2001, NEC member and a member of the national campaign team in 2011, among other duties he held in the party.

NUSURA TIPERU OMAR (NRM)
Tiperu, 38, will be serving a second term. Previously, she served as Youth MP before she was elected in 2001 as Yumbe District Woman MP. Tiperu is chairperson International Muslim Women's Union and entrenched in the NRM where she is a member of Central Executive Committee.

DORA BYAMUKAMA. (NRM)
Byamukama, a legal expert will be serving a second term.  She was first elected to EALA in 2007 after serving in Ugandan Parliament for one term. In the regional parliament, she successfully tabled two key Bills, which were The Administration of EALA Act, 2010; and The East African Parliamentary Institute, 2010. In Ugandan parliament, she chaired three committees: Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; Equal Opportunities and the Select Committee on Industrial Relations. She also served as Vice Chairperson of Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA). She is a New Vision columnist.

MIKE KENNEDY SEBALU (NRM)
Sebalu,47, started his political career as a Youth delegate to the Constituent Assembly immediately after graduating from university.  He will be serving his second term.  Earlier, Sebalu represented Busiro east in Parliament, where he also served as a member of the Pan African Parliament. A cadre of the NRM, he is on the Party's disciplinary committee, national executive committee and the National Conference.