Masaka DP youth battle elders as NRM women clash in Amuru
Feb 26, 2010
THE election year, 2011, is around the corner. Incumbents will struggle to retain their seats while many others will vie to replace them. The contests will cut across; from president, parliamentary constituencies to local government. <i>Saturday Vision</i> previews what the battles will be like.
THE election year, 2011, is around the corner. Incumbents will struggle to retain their seats while many others will vie to replace them. The contests will cut across; from president, parliamentary constituencies to local government. As the temperatures begin to rise, Saturday Vision puts a barometer on the political climate; analysing the aspirants and the issues that are likely to influence voter choices.
Masaka Municipality
MASAKA Municipality, a Democratic Party (DP) stronghold, has turned into a battle ground that has pitted the party youth against the elderly members.
The young members, with support from strategists in Kampala, are fronting Mengo youth minister Mathias Mpuga to replace incumbent MP John Baptist Kawanga.
During the party’s grassroots elections this year, supporters of both camps were involved in fist fights and the anti-riot police had to intervene. Kawanga supporters swept seven parishes in the municipality, while only two people from Mpuga’s camp took Ssenyange and Masaka town cells.
The majority of Mpuga’s campaign managers were defeated, which has reduced his chances of being the DP flag bearer. Mpuga’s supporters argue that Kawanga has held the position for too long, having represented the municipality since the Constituent Assembly in 1994. Kawanga’s detractors also claim that although he has brilliant ideas in Parliament, he is a failure on the ground. But his supporters led by the municipal council speaker, Dennis Majwala, say Kawanga is a principled legislator. The Kawanga group claims Mpuga is best suited to the municipality mayoral seat. The mayor, John Tebyasa Matovu, 75, resigned late last year.
In the mean time, the NRM is watching the DP battles with keen interest, as it deliberates on a candidate to front in the constituency.
Sources say the NRM is zeroing in on Masaka health officer Dr. Stuart Musisi, a lively and social man. However, Musisi told Saturday Vision that he was still undecided.
Amuru woman
The seat is one of the areas where the NRM is laying strategies to oust the Opposition parliamentarians.
The NRM candidate will face the incumbent, Concy Aciro, an Independent with FDC leanings.
Aciro has been hailed for using her constituency development fund money to support women and youth groups engaged in income generating activities.
She lobbied for 200 footballs and 300,000 sports uniforms from Birmingham University and Luo groups in London, which were distributed to 54 youth clubs in the north.
The residents are grateful to her for promoting land rights and protecting them against people who pose as investors in a bid to acquire large chunks of land illegally.
Elizabeth Allimadi-Ocitti, who was recently appointed by the President as a commissioner on the Peace Recovery and Development Plan, will compete against two other NRM candidates in the primaries.
Ocitti, a daughter of former prime minister in the Obote II regime, Otema Allimadi, who lived in London, UK for many years, has asked residents to reject leaders who tell lies about the Government, arguing that the LRA war is over and people in north need government programmes to transform their lives.
She advises people to vote leaders who can work with the Government.
Concy Adoch Nyapolo is determined to be the NRM flag bearer.
“I am currently in consultations with the executive members of the NRM and introducing myself to the community. I am also trying to link groups with the district community office to register and get certificates of registration,†she explained.
Nyapolo has initiated the Yot Kom Ayee Teko Waa (good health is our strength) programme for women and children in Lamogi sub-county by clearing off their medical bills and paying for drugs for those admitted to hospital. “I possess the qualities of a trustworthy, honest, physically energetic, and flexible leader with a high level of integrity. Leaders are ordained by God; I am confident that this is my time to lead the women of Amuru district,†she noted.
Nyapolo boasted that her strength lies in the strength of party she belongs to. “I know NRM is growing from strength to strength, judging from the coverage, vision and implementation of its programmes.
“As a community development officer I have been interacting with the community and collecting data concerning their needs, which can be solved through the right policies in parliament.â€
Catherine Lamwaka, a community development officer in Amuru town council, narrowly lost to Nyapolo in 2006. She says: “I was the NRM unopposed NRM flagbearer in 2006, which shows the trust people have in me.†She says her experience in leadership at work places and interaction with people both locally and internationally, make her better placed for the seat.
Lamwaka said her slogan would be ‘peace, unity and reconstruction for development’, adding that since the war had ended, major emphasis should be put on economic, social and political development of the people.
“Socially, I will look at issues of health and education of children, social protection of the vulnerable people like the mothers, disabled persons and children and economically, I will look at increasing income at household levels and improving the saving culture.â€
She is supporting two women and youth groups in each sub-county in Amuru district with agricultural inputs and encouraging saving and credit societies. Lamwaka says the major weakness she foresees is that people have not yet fully embraced the meaning of multi-party democracy. She also expressed concern that the Electoral Commission may not reach out to all the formerly displaced persons, who have returned to their homes.
NAMUTUMBA WOMAN
WHEN Namutumba was carved out of Iganga district in 2006, Lydia Kibwika, who was a councillor representing Magada sub-county, was elected Woman MP. In Iganga, Kibwika had been appointed vice-chairperson of the district but the council dropped her over alleged examination malpractice at Busoga University in 2005.
The Iganga LC5 chairman tried unsuccessfully to save her.
This, however, did not bring her down. When the chance came to run for the Namutumba Woman MP seat, she used Juliana Kanyomozi’s song, Kibaluma, throughout her campaigns. The song talks about detractors who try to pull you down when you succeed and it earned her sympathy votes. Coupled with her rhetorical skills and command of the local dialect Lusiginyi, she won. The contest was tough, with Florence Mutyabule, who had lost the NRM primaries, running as an independent.
 Kibwika and Mutyabule’s rivalry started before they locked horns over the seat. The latter is a member of the board of directors of the university that expelled Kibwika over alleged examination malpractice. The two are set to face each other again in 2011. It is an NRM comfort zone and the real contest is within the party. For now, no politician from any other party has shown interest in the seat.
Kibwika has concentrated on offering vocational training to less fortunate children in her constituency who are selected at her office in Namutumba town.
A bus usually parks at the office at the start of the term to ferry the students to their institutions.
 She is also a regular contributor to developmental projects including building schools, mosques and health centres. However, constituents consider her aloof and complain that she does not tour the constituency often.
They also question why she resides in Iganga town and not her district. Some wonder why they do not see her on television like other parliamentarians. The women also think she should have done more to help them. Though women groups exist, they say most of them benefit from NGOs rather than their political leaders.
 Mutyabule, on the other hand, is the president of the Mothers Union in Busoga Diocese, a body that brings together all women wed in Church. She has often used this platform to reach voters.
She also contributes regularly to funerals, church and school projects and has a stake in the Jinja-based Victoria FM radio, which will give her some mileage. But she is a fresh entrant in the political field although her father, the late Bulolo, was a famous political chief in the area, who was killed after the fall of Milton Obote in 1985. With the NRM now working to stop its members from running as Independent candidates, the battle will be fought in the primaries.
Mwenge North, Kyenjojo
Retired Col. Tom Butime is going to face his stiffest challenge since the late 1980s. The incumbent is likely to face Bushenyi resident district commissioner (RDC) John Gaston Mariro and Col. Stephen Kananura, a serving soldier who is planning to retire.
In the late 1980s Butime represented the constituency in the National Resistance Council, the first legislative body under President Yoweri Museveni. Since then he has won elections every five years to represent his constituency in parliament. During the 2001 elections, he was in the news for allegedly beating up an RDC, Grace Sendabaguzi, for allegedly interfering with Mwenge North politics.
One of Butime’s strengths is that he has a network of supporters that he has cultivated over the years. Elders in the area believe his influence, political experience and exposure in government and abroad is good for the constituency.
Butime served as a state minister for communications but after the 2006 general elections, he rejected a new appointment as the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs. He has also served in the ministries of internal affairs, disaster preparedness and foreign affairs. A trained cinematographer, Butime fought in the war that brought the President to power in 1986. However people say elections in Mwenge North have always been chaotic and they are scared that with the stiff competition, Butime’s camp could use his position to intimidate other candidates’ supporters.
His biggest challenger, Mariro, was born in Kyenjojo. Before being appointed RDC, he was an NRM mobiliser in Kyenjojo. He is a popular man who he mixes freely with the people. They praise him for being generous, particularly when they have problems.
Another potentially strong challenger is Kananura. Close associates many people consider him a high ranking officer whom the president is likely to listen to. They also have a belief that military people make good leaders.
All the aspirants belong to the National Resistance Movement, as Kyenjojo has been largely an NRM stronghold.
BUIKWE WOMAN
The race so far has candidates from the NRM party. They are Lydia Balemeezi, a former woman MP for Mukono district, Dorothy Mpiima a former Mukono district councillor and Esther Nakiwu Kirumira, a former councillor in Njeru town council. Each woman is popular among the electorate in the new district, which was carved out of Mukono.
Balemeezi, who is the presidential assistant on poverty alleviation, is known for several reasons, including agitating for the creation of Buikwe district in 2005. The holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Makerere University, Balemeezi is also popular because she has been a staunch NRM supporter since the 1980s. She also used the two terms she was in Parliament from 1996 -2005 to initiate income-generating projects for women and the youth. Some voters, however, believe that having served to terms in Parliament, she should make way for new faces.
Mpiima is a force to reckon with. A teacher with a diploma in education from Kyambogo University, Mpiima’s popularity mainly stems from her being a member of the Buikwe district steering committee, which was tasked with pursuing the creation of the new district.
She used her position as the secretary on the committee to market herself among opinion leaders in the new district, many of whom today view her as a potential MP aspirant. Mpiima, who taught at Jinja SS for over 14 years, also served as the secretary for education on the Mukono District Council when Godfrey Ddamulira Kyeyune was the LC5 chairman. Her only hindrance might be that she does not possess a strong financial base that is necessary to sustain a campaign in the vast district.
Nakiwu contested against the current Mukono District Women MP Mary Nalugo Ssekiziyivu in the 2006 elections and lost in the NRM primaries. But but unlike some losers in the primaries, Nakiwu followed the rules of the party and did not stand as an Independent. This earned her the respect and goodwill of many NRM supporters, who view her as a disciplined party member.
All three aspirants are popular and have experience in politics and campaigns and the fact that they are all from Njeru town council means they will share the home votes. The contribution of individuals towards the creation of Buikwe district will also be a key factor among voters.
Buikwe is made up of eight sub-counties and three town councils. It is a big constituency with a population of about 500,000 residents and its problems are diverse.
Compiled by: Dismus Buregyeya, John Semakula, Chris Ocowun, Hope Mafaranga and George Bita
Masaka Municipality
MASAKA Municipality, a Democratic Party (DP) stronghold, has turned into a battle ground that has pitted the party youth against the elderly members.
The young members, with support from strategists in Kampala, are fronting Mengo youth minister Mathias Mpuga to replace incumbent MP John Baptist Kawanga.
During the party’s grassroots elections this year, supporters of both camps were involved in fist fights and the anti-riot police had to intervene. Kawanga supporters swept seven parishes in the municipality, while only two people from Mpuga’s camp took Ssenyange and Masaka town cells.
The majority of Mpuga’s campaign managers were defeated, which has reduced his chances of being the DP flag bearer. Mpuga’s supporters argue that Kawanga has held the position for too long, having represented the municipality since the Constituent Assembly in 1994. Kawanga’s detractors also claim that although he has brilliant ideas in Parliament, he is a failure on the ground. But his supporters led by the municipal council speaker, Dennis Majwala, say Kawanga is a principled legislator. The Kawanga group claims Mpuga is best suited to the municipality mayoral seat. The mayor, John Tebyasa Matovu, 75, resigned late last year.
In the mean time, the NRM is watching the DP battles with keen interest, as it deliberates on a candidate to front in the constituency.
Sources say the NRM is zeroing in on Masaka health officer Dr. Stuart Musisi, a lively and social man. However, Musisi told Saturday Vision that he was still undecided.
Amuru woman
The seat is one of the areas where the NRM is laying strategies to oust the Opposition parliamentarians.
The NRM candidate will face the incumbent, Concy Aciro, an Independent with FDC leanings.
Aciro has been hailed for using her constituency development fund money to support women and youth groups engaged in income generating activities.
She lobbied for 200 footballs and 300,000 sports uniforms from Birmingham University and Luo groups in London, which were distributed to 54 youth clubs in the north.
The residents are grateful to her for promoting land rights and protecting them against people who pose as investors in a bid to acquire large chunks of land illegally.
Elizabeth Allimadi-Ocitti, who was recently appointed by the President as a commissioner on the Peace Recovery and Development Plan, will compete against two other NRM candidates in the primaries.
Ocitti, a daughter of former prime minister in the Obote II regime, Otema Allimadi, who lived in London, UK for many years, has asked residents to reject leaders who tell lies about the Government, arguing that the LRA war is over and people in north need government programmes to transform their lives.
She advises people to vote leaders who can work with the Government.
Concy Adoch Nyapolo is determined to be the NRM flag bearer.
“I am currently in consultations with the executive members of the NRM and introducing myself to the community. I am also trying to link groups with the district community office to register and get certificates of registration,†she explained.
Nyapolo has initiated the Yot Kom Ayee Teko Waa (good health is our strength) programme for women and children in Lamogi sub-county by clearing off their medical bills and paying for drugs for those admitted to hospital. “I possess the qualities of a trustworthy, honest, physically energetic, and flexible leader with a high level of integrity. Leaders are ordained by God; I am confident that this is my time to lead the women of Amuru district,†she noted.
Nyapolo boasted that her strength lies in the strength of party she belongs to. “I know NRM is growing from strength to strength, judging from the coverage, vision and implementation of its programmes.
“As a community development officer I have been interacting with the community and collecting data concerning their needs, which can be solved through the right policies in parliament.â€
Catherine Lamwaka, a community development officer in Amuru town council, narrowly lost to Nyapolo in 2006. She says: “I was the NRM unopposed NRM flagbearer in 2006, which shows the trust people have in me.†She says her experience in leadership at work places and interaction with people both locally and internationally, make her better placed for the seat.
Lamwaka said her slogan would be ‘peace, unity and reconstruction for development’, adding that since the war had ended, major emphasis should be put on economic, social and political development of the people.
“Socially, I will look at issues of health and education of children, social protection of the vulnerable people like the mothers, disabled persons and children and economically, I will look at increasing income at household levels and improving the saving culture.â€
She is supporting two women and youth groups in each sub-county in Amuru district with agricultural inputs and encouraging saving and credit societies. Lamwaka says the major weakness she foresees is that people have not yet fully embraced the meaning of multi-party democracy. She also expressed concern that the Electoral Commission may not reach out to all the formerly displaced persons, who have returned to their homes.
NAMUTUMBA WOMAN
WHEN Namutumba was carved out of Iganga district in 2006, Lydia Kibwika, who was a councillor representing Magada sub-county, was elected Woman MP. In Iganga, Kibwika had been appointed vice-chairperson of the district but the council dropped her over alleged examination malpractice at Busoga University in 2005.
The Iganga LC5 chairman tried unsuccessfully to save her.
This, however, did not bring her down. When the chance came to run for the Namutumba Woman MP seat, she used Juliana Kanyomozi’s song, Kibaluma, throughout her campaigns. The song talks about detractors who try to pull you down when you succeed and it earned her sympathy votes. Coupled with her rhetorical skills and command of the local dialect Lusiginyi, she won. The contest was tough, with Florence Mutyabule, who had lost the NRM primaries, running as an independent.
 Kibwika and Mutyabule’s rivalry started before they locked horns over the seat. The latter is a member of the board of directors of the university that expelled Kibwika over alleged examination malpractice. The two are set to face each other again in 2011. It is an NRM comfort zone and the real contest is within the party. For now, no politician from any other party has shown interest in the seat.
Kibwika has concentrated on offering vocational training to less fortunate children in her constituency who are selected at her office in Namutumba town.
A bus usually parks at the office at the start of the term to ferry the students to their institutions.
 She is also a regular contributor to developmental projects including building schools, mosques and health centres. However, constituents consider her aloof and complain that she does not tour the constituency often.
They also question why she resides in Iganga town and not her district. Some wonder why they do not see her on television like other parliamentarians. The women also think she should have done more to help them. Though women groups exist, they say most of them benefit from NGOs rather than their political leaders.
 Mutyabule, on the other hand, is the president of the Mothers Union in Busoga Diocese, a body that brings together all women wed in Church. She has often used this platform to reach voters.
She also contributes regularly to funerals, church and school projects and has a stake in the Jinja-based Victoria FM radio, which will give her some mileage. But she is a fresh entrant in the political field although her father, the late Bulolo, was a famous political chief in the area, who was killed after the fall of Milton Obote in 1985. With the NRM now working to stop its members from running as Independent candidates, the battle will be fought in the primaries.
Mwenge North, Kyenjojo
Retired Col. Tom Butime is going to face his stiffest challenge since the late 1980s. The incumbent is likely to face Bushenyi resident district commissioner (RDC) John Gaston Mariro and Col. Stephen Kananura, a serving soldier who is planning to retire.
In the late 1980s Butime represented the constituency in the National Resistance Council, the first legislative body under President Yoweri Museveni. Since then he has won elections every five years to represent his constituency in parliament. During the 2001 elections, he was in the news for allegedly beating up an RDC, Grace Sendabaguzi, for allegedly interfering with Mwenge North politics.
One of Butime’s strengths is that he has a network of supporters that he has cultivated over the years. Elders in the area believe his influence, political experience and exposure in government and abroad is good for the constituency.
Butime served as a state minister for communications but after the 2006 general elections, he rejected a new appointment as the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs. He has also served in the ministries of internal affairs, disaster preparedness and foreign affairs. A trained cinematographer, Butime fought in the war that brought the President to power in 1986. However people say elections in Mwenge North have always been chaotic and they are scared that with the stiff competition, Butime’s camp could use his position to intimidate other candidates’ supporters.
His biggest challenger, Mariro, was born in Kyenjojo. Before being appointed RDC, he was an NRM mobiliser in Kyenjojo. He is a popular man who he mixes freely with the people. They praise him for being generous, particularly when they have problems.
Another potentially strong challenger is Kananura. Close associates many people consider him a high ranking officer whom the president is likely to listen to. They also have a belief that military people make good leaders.
All the aspirants belong to the National Resistance Movement, as Kyenjojo has been largely an NRM stronghold.
BUIKWE WOMAN
The race so far has candidates from the NRM party. They are Lydia Balemeezi, a former woman MP for Mukono district, Dorothy Mpiima a former Mukono district councillor and Esther Nakiwu Kirumira, a former councillor in Njeru town council. Each woman is popular among the electorate in the new district, which was carved out of Mukono.
Balemeezi, who is the presidential assistant on poverty alleviation, is known for several reasons, including agitating for the creation of Buikwe district in 2005. The holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Makerere University, Balemeezi is also popular because she has been a staunch NRM supporter since the 1980s. She also used the two terms she was in Parliament from 1996 -2005 to initiate income-generating projects for women and the youth. Some voters, however, believe that having served to terms in Parliament, she should make way for new faces.
Mpiima is a force to reckon with. A teacher with a diploma in education from Kyambogo University, Mpiima’s popularity mainly stems from her being a member of the Buikwe district steering committee, which was tasked with pursuing the creation of the new district.
She used her position as the secretary on the committee to market herself among opinion leaders in the new district, many of whom today view her as a potential MP aspirant. Mpiima, who taught at Jinja SS for over 14 years, also served as the secretary for education on the Mukono District Council when Godfrey Ddamulira Kyeyune was the LC5 chairman. Her only hindrance might be that she does not possess a strong financial base that is necessary to sustain a campaign in the vast district.
Nakiwu contested against the current Mukono District Women MP Mary Nalugo Ssekiziyivu in the 2006 elections and lost in the NRM primaries. But but unlike some losers in the primaries, Nakiwu followed the rules of the party and did not stand as an Independent. This earned her the respect and goodwill of many NRM supporters, who view her as a disciplined party member.
All three aspirants are popular and have experience in politics and campaigns and the fact that they are all from Njeru town council means they will share the home votes. The contribution of individuals towards the creation of Buikwe district will also be a key factor among voters.
Buikwe is made up of eight sub-counties and three town councils. It is a big constituency with a population of about 500,000 residents and its problems are diverse.
Compiled by: Dismus Buregyeya, John Semakula, Chris Ocowun, Hope Mafaranga and George Bita