Rubaga LC3 by-elections: A battle of the opposition
Apr 23, 2008
The upcoming LC3 by-election in Rubaga Division is likely to be real fireworks. The battle lines have been drawn by various parties fronting their candidates, except the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
By Joshua Kato
The upcoming LC3 by-election in Rubaga Division is likely to be real fireworks. The battle lines have been drawn by various parties fronting their candidates, except the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Rubaga Division has unique features. It has the seat of the Catholic Church at Rubaga and the Anglicans at Namirembe, three major Pentecostal churches; Rubaga Miracle Centre of Pastor Robert Kayanja, Liberty Worship Centre of Pastor Imelda Namutebi and Victory Christian Centre of Pastor Joseph Sserwada are found there.
The area also has the highest number of traditional healers.
Christians are set to battle with traditional healers in the by-election since their leader, Maama Fiina of Ndeeba, has also declared her intentions to contest for the seat.
The seat fell vacant after the death of the LC3 chairperson, Winnie Makumbi, in March.
Located south of Kampala, Rubaga Division, which consists of 13 parishes, has a population of about 500,000 people. According to the new Kampala plan, the division will soon become Mengo Municipality.
Prominent cultural sites in the division include Bulange, the administrative seat of the Buganda Government; and the Twekobe, the official palace of Buganda kings. It also has Kasubi Tombs, the burial site of the kings of Buganda.
pposition stronghold
Rubaga Division, like other Kampala divisions, is a multiparty domain. For instance, Rubaga North MP, Betty Kamya, belongs to the Forum for Democratic Change, while Rubaga South MP, Susan Nampijja, belongs to the Conservative Party. The late Winnie Makumbi belonged to the Democratic Party (DP), while Stephen Asiimwe, the division councillor to the district, belongs to the NRM. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) a new party formed by Makindye East MP, Michael Mabikke, also claims a section of the councillors.
As the by-elections get into higher gear, there is a debate on which political party has the biggest support in the area.
DP president, John Ssebaana Kizito, says they have the biggest following.
“Most of the councillors belong to DP. This shows our popularity in the division,†he says.
However, the FDC president, Col Dr Kizza Besigye, says: “It is not right for DP to claim that they have the biggest following in Rubaga. What measures are they using? DP wants other opposition groups to support it, instead of fronting their own candidates,†he said. However, it is unlikely that the opposition will agree on fronting a single candidate for the seat. Below are some of the contestants for the seat.
Joyce Ssebugwawo, FDC
She has been declared the official FDC candidate. Ssebugwawo has been a politician for many years and having served as a Buganda minister gives her an edge. Before joining FDC, Ssebugwawo was a member of the NRM. During the 2001 presidential elections, Ssebugwawo was one of the Buganda Government ministers who opposed President Yoweri Museveni. However, soon after the elections, she was dropped as minister of women affairs in the Mengo government. She was a pioneer member of Besigye’s Reform Agenda and later FDC.
Makumbi, DP candidate
Several people have come up to stand on the DP ticket, including the former chairman, Justin Ssendikadiwa, Martin Mulema and Moses Makumbi, the widower of the late Winnie Makumbi. However, Makumbi was named the official DP candidate when the party held its primaries recently.
He was fronted by Kampala Mayor Nasser Ssebagala and may ride on the success of his late wife. However, he was not active in politics during his wife’s reign and this may affect his ambitions. Even in the run-up to the by-elections, he has been quiet, preferring other people to campaign for him.
Ssendikadiwa says he may run as an independent, but it may be difficult for him to win the race, given the fact that he was defeated in 2006.
Henry Lubowa (SDP)
Lubowa started politics at Makerere University as the chairman of the Uganda Young Democrats in 1997. He was also youth councillor at Kampala City Council for many years, until 2006. Lubowa is banking on several issues to win the seat.
“I am the most consistent member of the opposition. All the other contestants joined the opposition a few years ago,†he says. Previously a member of DP, Lubowa claims to have the most powerful grassroots campaigning team, composed of the Youth Brigade.
“The youth brigade campaigned for almost all DP leaders in the city. We moved with them to the SDP and are ready to campaign for me,†he says.
A resident of Namungoona in Rubaga North, Lubowa thinks that this gives him an edge. “I am the only contestant from Rubaga North. People in my constituency will vote for me,†he says.
Maama Fiina (independent)
She is the national chairperson of traditional healers. Her job as a traditional healer brought her to the limelight. She is standing as an independent, though she has leanings with the NRM. In 2000, she started calling radio stations, praising the NRM regime. She is a strong force to reckon with since she has good mobilisation skills.
“I have been on the ground for many years. I have helped the youth in the division to get jobs. I have given out over 1,000 boda bodas to the youth in the division,†she says.
Maama Fiina was also instrumental in the development of women gift circles, commonly known as Nigiina. At one time, she donated a car to one of the women in the circle.
She says she is not in the race for financial gains. However, she faces stiff opposition from Christians in the division.
Although the NRM has won most of the by-elections across the country, Rubaga Division might be a mountain to climb. The situation may not be helped by a lack of a candidate to fight for the seat. By press time, several names had been fronted. These include former Rubaga North MP Tom Kayongo, who was defeated in the 2006 Parliamentary elections by FDC’s Betty Kamya; Charles Kituuka, who was defeated by Winnie Makumbi in 2006, and Vincent Mutebi, who was defeated by Justine Ssendikadiwa in 2001.
However, whichever candidate NRM fronts, Rubaga division is an opposition stronghold and the LC 3 seat will probably be won by one of the opposition candidates.
The upcoming LC3 by-election in Rubaga Division is likely to be real fireworks. The battle lines have been drawn by various parties fronting their candidates, except the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Rubaga Division has unique features. It has the seat of the Catholic Church at Rubaga and the Anglicans at Namirembe, three major Pentecostal churches; Rubaga Miracle Centre of Pastor Robert Kayanja, Liberty Worship Centre of Pastor Imelda Namutebi and Victory Christian Centre of Pastor Joseph Sserwada are found there.
The area also has the highest number of traditional healers.
Christians are set to battle with traditional healers in the by-election since their leader, Maama Fiina of Ndeeba, has also declared her intentions to contest for the seat.
The seat fell vacant after the death of the LC3 chairperson, Winnie Makumbi, in March.
Located south of Kampala, Rubaga Division, which consists of 13 parishes, has a population of about 500,000 people. According to the new Kampala plan, the division will soon become Mengo Municipality.
Prominent cultural sites in the division include Bulange, the administrative seat of the Buganda Government; and the Twekobe, the official palace of Buganda kings. It also has Kasubi Tombs, the burial site of the kings of Buganda.
pposition stronghold
Rubaga Division, like other Kampala divisions, is a multiparty domain. For instance, Rubaga North MP, Betty Kamya, belongs to the Forum for Democratic Change, while Rubaga South MP, Susan Nampijja, belongs to the Conservative Party. The late Winnie Makumbi belonged to the Democratic Party (DP), while Stephen Asiimwe, the division councillor to the district, belongs to the NRM. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) a new party formed by Makindye East MP, Michael Mabikke, also claims a section of the councillors.
As the by-elections get into higher gear, there is a debate on which political party has the biggest support in the area.
DP president, John Ssebaana Kizito, says they have the biggest following.
“Most of the councillors belong to DP. This shows our popularity in the division,†he says.
However, the FDC president, Col Dr Kizza Besigye, says: “It is not right for DP to claim that they have the biggest following in Rubaga. What measures are they using? DP wants other opposition groups to support it, instead of fronting their own candidates,†he said. However, it is unlikely that the opposition will agree on fronting a single candidate for the seat. Below are some of the contestants for the seat.
Joyce Ssebugwawo, FDC
She has been declared the official FDC candidate. Ssebugwawo has been a politician for many years and having served as a Buganda minister gives her an edge. Before joining FDC, Ssebugwawo was a member of the NRM. During the 2001 presidential elections, Ssebugwawo was one of the Buganda Government ministers who opposed President Yoweri Museveni. However, soon after the elections, she was dropped as minister of women affairs in the Mengo government. She was a pioneer member of Besigye’s Reform Agenda and later FDC.
Makumbi, DP candidate
Several people have come up to stand on the DP ticket, including the former chairman, Justin Ssendikadiwa, Martin Mulema and Moses Makumbi, the widower of the late Winnie Makumbi. However, Makumbi was named the official DP candidate when the party held its primaries recently.
He was fronted by Kampala Mayor Nasser Ssebagala and may ride on the success of his late wife. However, he was not active in politics during his wife’s reign and this may affect his ambitions. Even in the run-up to the by-elections, he has been quiet, preferring other people to campaign for him.
Ssendikadiwa says he may run as an independent, but it may be difficult for him to win the race, given the fact that he was defeated in 2006.
Henry Lubowa (SDP)
Lubowa started politics at Makerere University as the chairman of the Uganda Young Democrats in 1997. He was also youth councillor at Kampala City Council for many years, until 2006. Lubowa is banking on several issues to win the seat.
“I am the most consistent member of the opposition. All the other contestants joined the opposition a few years ago,†he says. Previously a member of DP, Lubowa claims to have the most powerful grassroots campaigning team, composed of the Youth Brigade.
“The youth brigade campaigned for almost all DP leaders in the city. We moved with them to the SDP and are ready to campaign for me,†he says.
A resident of Namungoona in Rubaga North, Lubowa thinks that this gives him an edge. “I am the only contestant from Rubaga North. People in my constituency will vote for me,†he says.
Maama Fiina (independent)
She is the national chairperson of traditional healers. Her job as a traditional healer brought her to the limelight. She is standing as an independent, though she has leanings with the NRM. In 2000, she started calling radio stations, praising the NRM regime. She is a strong force to reckon with since she has good mobilisation skills.
“I have been on the ground for many years. I have helped the youth in the division to get jobs. I have given out over 1,000 boda bodas to the youth in the division,†she says.
Maama Fiina was also instrumental in the development of women gift circles, commonly known as Nigiina. At one time, she donated a car to one of the women in the circle.
She says she is not in the race for financial gains. However, she faces stiff opposition from Christians in the division.
Although the NRM has won most of the by-elections across the country, Rubaga Division might be a mountain to climb. The situation may not be helped by a lack of a candidate to fight for the seat. By press time, several names had been fronted. These include former Rubaga North MP Tom Kayongo, who was defeated in the 2006 Parliamentary elections by FDC’s Betty Kamya; Charles Kituuka, who was defeated by Winnie Makumbi in 2006, and Vincent Mutebi, who was defeated by Justine Ssendikadiwa in 2001.
However, whichever candidate NRM fronts, Rubaga division is an opposition stronghold and the LC 3 seat will probably be won by one of the opposition candidates.