Sorry Ngime, Winnie is back for the Mbarara seat

Jun 29, 2003

Which Byanyima are we talking about here — Boniface, Winnie, Enid or Olivia?<br>The infamous one — Winnie Byanyima, MP for Mbarara Municipality — the one who is married to Col. Kizza Besigye, head of Reform Agenda

Which Byanyima are we talking about here — Boniface, Winnie, Enid or Olivia?
The infamous one — Winnie Byanyima, MP for Mbarara Municipality — the one who is married to Col. Kizza Besigye, head of Reform Agenda.

What has she done this time and why can’t people leave her alone?
Personally, I have no beef with her. The good news though is that she flew back into Uganda last Wednesday! Prior to that, Byanyima had been a naughty girl.

On February 20, Byanyima asked her boss at Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, for leave of absence to go to South Africa and attend three meetings as a gender equality activist. Her last meeting was on April 3.

Since then, she had not reported back for work, and failed to communicate her whereabouts to Parliament. There was speculation that if she didn’t show up for work soon, she was liable to lose her seat.

Did anybody report the matter to the Police, or better still to Interpol or the FBI and pronounce her missing?
I don’t think so: I never saw her picture in the newspapers with the word ‘Missing’ above it. However, word has it that from South Africa, Byanyima, rather than fly home, opted to jump onto a plane and head for Afghanistan.

Her supporters must have raced to the airport to meet her upon her return. Was the red carpet rolled out and did she drive to town in a motorcade that brought Kampala to a halt?
I am afraid not. Byanyima landed at Entebbe under the cover of darkness. Her return was all hush hush. The VIP protocol staff at Entebbe probably did not have enough time to roll out the carpet.

And there is a good chance the red carpet was not available, as it may have been taken to the dry cleaners for stringent cleaning in preparation for President George Bush, who arrives next month.

Do you think while she was in South Africa she spent part of her time playing happy families with the Col.?
Happy families? Well, I suppose after being starved of her ‘matrimonial rights’ for months on end she must have jumped at the chance of getting frisky with the Col. I also presume the Col. welcomed her into his chambers dressed in combat fatigues and accorded her full military honours.

Stop there, I get the drift! I hear in some circles there might be a party should her job fall vacant. Before I apply, how much were they paying her?
True, there might be a ‘party’ in some circles. But before you go applying for her job, which pays sh3.5m a month plus benefits, you might have to deal with a man called Ngoma Ngime.

Ngoma Ngime? Just what is he to our Winnie?
Ngime stood against Byanyima for the Mbarara seat and lost. Subsequently, both of them have been embroiled in a legal battle, which Ngime also lost. I guess if he got Byanyima’s job, the sh3.5m salary could go a long way to help settle his legal bills.

When Byanyima went to SA, did she pack anything for Besigye to remind him of home?
I am not too sure. She may have packed him the pistol he pinched when he left the army, a pair of combat army greens to remind him of his days in the bush war and a photograph of a ‘safe house’ Col. Noble Mayombo would like him to live in should he decide to return to Uganda!

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