Kawooya and Kabatsi to face off again in Sembabule as 10 eye Kajeke’s Mbale seat
Jan 15, 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 and local government. As the temperatures begin to rise, <i>Saturday Vision</i> puts a
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 and 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.
SEMBABULE
Mawogola, Lwemiyaga and district Woman MP seats seem to have the most tense politics in the country at the moment. Ironically, the tussle is among NRM supporters and candidates. The opposition appears weak in this district which has different tribes. The contest involves the wealthy foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa (Mawogola) and Movementist, Hanifa Kawooya Baingana (Woman MP). The others are NRM firebrands Theodore Ssekikubo and district chairman Herman Sentongo.
Previous elections in Sembabule have been tense. Late last year, when President Yoweri Museveni, and other NRM leaders visited Sembabule, Ssekikubo and Kutesa verbally attacked each other. Two days later, the President invited them for a reconciliatory meeting at his Kisozi ranch, a follow up of which is expected this month.
MAWOGOLA COUNTY
It is against this background that Ssembabule town councillor, Ishah Ntumwa has declared his intention to take on Kutesa in the contest for Mawogola. However, Kutesa, is not bothered at all. “Ntumwa and others are all welcome. I will show them what I am made of,†he said
“I command a lot of support from my people in Mawogola and the district at large. The things I have done for my people are obvious and I will continue helping Ssembabule,†he explained.
With a relatively lean purse, Ntumwa hopes the endorsement and promise of support from tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba and other influential district leaders will steer him to victory. Only last month, Basajjabalaba visited Ssembabule town council in the company of the presidential assistant on legal affairs, Joy Kabatsi and the Lwemiyaga MP, Ssekikubo and declared his support for Ntumwa.
Ntumwa, who hopes to contest as an NRM flag bearer, says he wants an end to the ‘Kutesa unopposed syndrome’. “This time he will have to sweat,†he said. Ntumwa, 36, explained that as a minister and businessman, Kutesa was too busy to address the issues of Mawogola.
Kutesa, the district NRM chairman, said: “I have a duty to win in Mawogola and to ensure that the NRM does not lose any seat in the district.â€
Whether Ntumwa can defeat Kutesa is not known but the calculation of the Ssentongo-Ssekikubo camp is to keep the minister busy in Mawogola so that he has less time to influence the polls elsewhere. “He is usually unopposed. This time we are going to give him some work in Mawogola,†Ntumwa said.
Kutesa’s strategy is to depict himself as a close associate to the President. At a rally in Lwebitakuli, Kutesa and his supporters displayed posters of President Yoweri Museveni, Kutesa and Kawooya. This alliance has been dubbed as ‘the 3K’ to mean; KAGUTA, KUTESA, KAWOOYA. Yellow T-shirts, with the inscription have been distributed in the district.
Sembabule Woman
Meanwhile, Joy Kabatsi will face her political nemesis, Hanifa Kawooya for the district woman MP seat. The two battled it out in 2006; Kawooya was declared winner and Kabatsi adduced evidence that there were malpractices that cost her victory. Court cancelled Kawooya’ election and in the resultant hotly contested by-election, Kabatsi was defeated again.
The contest in 2011 will be a replica of the others in terms of tempers and alliances. The stage has been set by Kabatsi’s announcement of a comeback. Kabatsi and her strategic allies; Ssekikubo, Ssentongo and financier, Basajabalaba are already positioning themselves for the challenge. The tug-of-war will be with Kawooya and her moneyed funder, Kutesa.
Kabatsi, who had vowed never to return to Ssembabule politics as long as Kutesa was alive, changed her mind when Museveni appointed her presidential assistant on legal affairs. The opposition has not yet shown interest in the district. The former DP candidate, Irene Lwanga, who trailed in the recent by-elections, is now the finance secretary in Masaka municipality.
LWEMIYAGA COUNTY
Elsewhere, Lwemiyaga MP, Theodore Ssekikubo has so far got three opponents; Patrick Nkalubo, Robert Baguma and US returnee, Michael Agaba. Ssekikubo hit the political scene in 2001 when he defeated former MP, Sam Rwakoojo who was later appointed as a secretary at the Electoral Commission.
Having teamed up with the equally youthful district boss, Ssentongo, the firebrand MP has always eyed Kutesa’s throne. He drew the anger of residents and the President when he attcked Kutesa on corruption in the district infront of the President.
It is perhaps not a surprise that one of his opponents is former Ssembabule chief administrative officer (CAO), Patrick Nkalubo, whom Ssekikubo accused of being involved in the bungling up of the NAADS programme in the district. Nkalubo lost to Ssekikubo in the 2006 primaries.
Nkalubo, who has gained ground, says he had the potential to unseat Ssekikubo in 2006 but the district NRM chairperson, Kutesa, advised him to respect the party flag bearer. “This time, Ssekikubo will not survive me in the party polls. I will get the NRM party flag for 2011. Ssekikubo has angered a lot of people with his indiscipline,†Nkalubo said.
Mateete sub-county assistant chief administrative officer Robert Baguma has also expressed interest in the Lwemiyaga seat. Baguma wants to launch his political career in the 2011 parliamentary elections.
“Ssekikubo is popular in Kampala but not on the ground. I have already done my ground work and I am ready to join the race,†he said.
Agaba, riding on the ‘just arrived from the US’ euphoria, is a Kampala-based businessman. He has become the darling of key NRM political players in Ssembabule and he is the man Ssekikubo should keenly watch.
Ssekikubo is also aware of the task ahead, having stepped on the toes of many people locally and in Kampala. He makes conspicuous trips to his constituency and organises meetings to strengthen his position and support.
HOIMA MUNICIPALITY
Hoima municipality was created in November 2008 but became effective on July 1, 2009. The municipality has four divisions; Mparo, Bujumbura, Busiisi and Kahoora. With just over a year of existence, the municipality has received proposals of suitors to become the pioneer representatives in Parliament. Those to tussle it out for the seat include; Muganwa Kajura, former Chief Administrative Officer Patrick Isingoma and youthful Richard Baguma, all on the NRM ticket.Patrick Baguma is the opposition candidate from FDC.
The 75-year-old Kajura, also the public service minister, has been in Cabinet since the NRM came to power in 1986, holding various portfolios. The minister, who is often referred to as a founder of the NRM by the President, is also the district party chairman. Kajura was MP for Bugahya county until he was dislodged by James Kiiza Rwebembera in 2006. It is not clear whether this could be the reason Kajura is relocating to Hoima Municipality, hoping to revamp his political career.
Kajura is the most senior politician in Bunyoro and influences several issues in the region. However, this influence could work against him.
Local politicians accuse him using his position to frustrate the activities of opposition politicians such as the mayor, Francis Atugonza. But the soft-spoken politician dismisses the charge: “We are not fighting them. Why would a minister like me fight Atugonza. They are small men who want to paint us as bad people so that people can think that they are being fought by big men,†Kajura stated.
Atugonza, with a big following in Hoima town, was arrested and charged with abuse of office in December. He, like his FDC boss Kizza Besigye, has said the arrest was politically motivated and claimed that the anti-corruption Police detectives who arrested him travelled to Hoima in Kajura’s vehicle.
Nonetheless, the alleged witch-hunt of opposition leaders in Bunyoro by government officials is likely to be a big campaign issue in the build up to the 2011 general elections. Opposition politicians are already portraying their side as being oppressed by the NRM.
Former Hoima CAO, Patrick Mwesigwa Isingoma, 49, also hopes to be endorsed as the NRM candidate for the municipality. Isingoma holds a masters degree and doctorate in public administration. But his knowledge is not theoretical alone.
He has hands on experience, having served as CAO for 10 years (1996-2006), worked in the ministries of local government and works and is now plying his trade as a management consultant.
Isingoma says Hoima Municipality will benefit from the experience he has collected along the way. During his 10-year service as CAO, he initiated the construction of the new district headquarters at Kasingo in 2004 before he was forced out of office. However, he won a case against the Government for unlawful dismissal. “People have asked me to stand as MP because they are missing my services,†said Isingoma.
“The area needs to shed off the old people who have been creating problems. The region is pro-Movement but the problem causers are within,†he stated.
Richard Baguma, is a businessman in Hoima and the surrounding districts. He will be standing on a Movement ticket, should the party primaries go in his favour. And what he will do for his people once he is elected is already tailor-made for him: “I will follow the NRM manifesto,†he promises.
Patrick Baguma, the vice-chairman of FDC in Western Uganda, is man not to be discounted. Initially a Kampala-based businesses man, he quickly rose to prominence when he contested for Bugahya county. He features prominently and regularly at FDC functions and makes time for radio talk shows to market his candidature and party. Baguma stood in Bugahya in the last elections and has directed his second attempt at the municipality.
MBALE MUNICIPALITY
FORMER Mbale Municipality MP, Wilfred Kajeke disappointed his supporters when he resigned on December 20, 2009. Similarly, the Basoga in Budiope could be mourning the tragic death of their MP, Henry Balikoowa. However, the two incidents provide the electorate a blessing in disguise; a curtain raiser, or is it a rehearsal ahead of the 2011 elections. The Electoral Commission is organising by-elections in the two areas.
In Mbale municipality, seven aspirants are eyeing the seat whose winner will be known by February. While it is not a sure deal that the winner in the by-election will automatically reclaim the seat next year, he could enjoy the power of incumbency, plead to complete unfinished tasks or be ditched by voters, depending on the impression made in just one year as MP.
That opportunity is available for NRM’s; Waswa Masokoyi, Patrick Makweta, James Mutende, John Wamboko Wekesa, Patrick Mutono and Emmanuel Matysetyse or FDC’s Jackson Wamanga Wamai. It also beckons DP’s Gerald Siranda and UPC’s Eric Joseph Sakwa and Amos David Walyemera.
Mbale district NRM chairman Jerome Mayantsa said after a flag-bearer for the party is chosen during the primaries, the other five NRM aspirants are obliged to support him.
Masokoyi, who works at the Mbale based Islamic University, is familiar with the Mbale Municipality electorate, having once stood against the late former NRM kingpin in Bugisu region, James Wapakhabulo.
Makweta is a businessman and the chairman of Uganda National Chamber of Commerce in Mbale. He represents the business community on the NRM National Executive Committee (NEC). He says he does not rule out the possibility of standing as an Independent if he is not picked as the flag bearer.
Matysetyse is the director of Mbale Tigers Table Tennis Club. Mutende holds a doctorate in investment economics and is currently working with the Uganda Investment Authority. Wamboko Wekesa is the head of Makerere University’s computer science department, while Mutono is a medical doctor who at one time challenged health minister Stephen Mallinga in Butebo, in the neighbouring Pallisa district, and lost.
Mutende confesses to eyeing the seat for the 2011 polls and that Kajeke’s resignation just brought forward and accelerated his ambition.
Matysetyse says Mbale Municipality does not need a job seeker to become its MP, while Mutono’s verdict is that the state of affairs in the municipality shows it is at a standstill.
Wamai, a retired diplomat, now businessman, will be praying that the voters who sent Kajeke to Parliament on an FDC ticket are still intact and loyal. His biggest hurdle could be explaining why Kajeke ‘abused’ their trust.
The voters in the municipality by-election are likely to look to a candidate with the capacity to address issues that include; poor infrastructure and land grabbing. In the 2006 parliamentary elections NRM lost to FDC because voters did not support Hassan Wasswa Galiwango, a non Mugisu.
Youthful Gerald Siranda, 27, hopes to make DP taste victory in this eastern town. Siranda, who works with Makerere University refugee project stood in 2006 as an Independent candidate. “Since my party believes in truth and justice, I want Mbale to promote truth and justice in decision making, development and accountability,†Siranda said.
Mbale UPC chairman, David Nyote, said Eric Joseph Sakwa Joseph and Amos David Walyemera had been sent to the party headquarters in Kampala for a decision on the flag bearer. Sakwa says he wants Mbale to regain its past glory as the cleanest town in Uganda.
KIGULU SOUTH
DURING the run-up to the 2006 parliamentary polls, the former Vice-President, Specioza Kazibwe bowed out of the Kigulu South MP race. Perhaps after losing the vice-presidency, she saw no point of returning as a mere MP.
Kazibwe anointed the then Iganga district youth councilor, Milton Muwuma, to tussle it out with her arch-rival and former Busia RDC, George Patrick Bageya. It should be remembered that during the 2001 national elections, Kazibwe and the former information minister, the late Basoga Nsadhu, had their combined political influence to have Bageya defeated by current Iganga LC5 chairman, Asuman Kyafu.
Bageya, who was defeated at the NRM party preliminary polls stood as an independent and put up a spirited fight. He, however lost to Muwuma by only 700 votes.
Now with only a few months to go, Muwuma and Kyafu are in an obvious two-man race for the parliamentary seat they conspired to deny a common enemy four years ago. However, one cannot rule out the candidates who surface at the last minute to make the contest more interesting.
According to Bulamagi LC3 chairman, Abdullah Balunywa, the incumbent MP attends almost every wedding, funeral and school function he is invited to. There is also a sizable number of less privileged students whose welfare he caters for. That is a plus in a region where poverty levels are alarming.
Muwuma also stood with the people of Nabirye village in Nakalama sub-county during a land wrangle with Madhvani Group of Companies.
He established a started a boda-boda scheme for the idle youth in Iganga. However, he failed to help constituents open up a new road after a key access road was closed by Iganga Boys Boarding School management. The alternative road, sanctioned by Busoga Church of Uganda Diocese, only leads to the new church premises. Muwuma was consequently dragged to court for trespass on a school land.
No wonder Kyafu made use of the road standoff. “The MP and head teacher wanted to show each other who is stronger but reached a stalemate. That is when they realised that it is me, the district authority they had ignored,†Kyafu stated.
Kyafu is the district NRM chairman under whose patronage the 2006 party primaries poll went in Muwuma’s favour. His oratory skills are unquestionable and have propelled him to higher places in the past.
However, as a Chaka mchaka (cadre course) instructor before 2001, he exercised a degree of brutality for which the local participants have never forgiven him. Similarly, he would have to explain why he chose to side with Madhvani Group in a land wrangle. Excess baggage includes, the district’s decision to take advantage of the lack of a Kyabazinga to sell Busoga kingdom land at Kigulu chiefdom palace in Iganga town. Many voters also ask Kyafu’s what he has to show for 10 years term as Iganga district chairman.
KYANKWANZI
Kyankwanzi district could be less than a month old after its creation in December but already residents are positioning themselves for the elective positions. It was curved out of Kiboga district. As such, the centre of attraction is Kiboga West constituency, where Ndawula Kaweesi is the incumbent.
The NRM treasurer will face off with Radio Simba news caster, Hajji Abu Ssemwogerere, a former Constituent Assembly (CA) delegate, Robinson Katumba, Mengo Hospital’s John Mpuuga and Dan Balekye.
Ssemwogerere has used the Kampala-based Luganda radio station to market himself. His proficiency in English and rich Luganda as articulated during his radio programmes has given him priceless publicity and assisted him to gain popularity. He is also the current assistant chief finance officer of Mukono district.
Katumba, the former CA delegate can claim that having helped draft the 1995 Constitution, it is right and fitting that he participates in using it to check the Government excesses and the over-sight role of Parliament.
Katumba who recently defected from DP joined the NRM which enjoys an easy ride in the district. He strategically declared his intentions to unseat Kaweesi during the Kiboga district NRM conference.
On his part, Kaweesi has vowed to continue representing Kiboga until he retires. He argues that the new Kyankwanzi district needs an experienced MP who will lobby for the required funds to prop up and develop it.
Kaweesi has represented Kiboga West for three consecutive terms. On his successes, he boasts of the rural electrification programmes in Nsambya, Ntwetwe, Wattuba, Mulagi and Butemba sub-counties, despite the poor road network in the area.
Balekye promises effective representation for the people of Kyankwanzi.
Makerere University trained Dr. Mpuuga, worked at Mengo Hospital and is in charge of Ntwetwe Health Centre IV. He said he wants to improve the education and health standards of the new district.
COMPILED BY;
Henry Mukasa, Joseph Wanzusi, Dismus Buregyeya, George Bita, Paskal Kwesiga, John Niyonzima
CONTACT EMAIL:
Saturday@newvision.co.ug
SEMBABULE
Mawogola, Lwemiyaga and district Woman MP seats seem to have the most tense politics in the country at the moment. Ironically, the tussle is among NRM supporters and candidates. The opposition appears weak in this district which has different tribes. The contest involves the wealthy foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa (Mawogola) and Movementist, Hanifa Kawooya Baingana (Woman MP). The others are NRM firebrands Theodore Ssekikubo and district chairman Herman Sentongo.
Previous elections in Sembabule have been tense. Late last year, when President Yoweri Museveni, and other NRM leaders visited Sembabule, Ssekikubo and Kutesa verbally attacked each other. Two days later, the President invited them for a reconciliatory meeting at his Kisozi ranch, a follow up of which is expected this month.
MAWOGOLA COUNTY
It is against this background that Ssembabule town councillor, Ishah Ntumwa has declared his intention to take on Kutesa in the contest for Mawogola. However, Kutesa, is not bothered at all. “Ntumwa and others are all welcome. I will show them what I am made of,†he said
“I command a lot of support from my people in Mawogola and the district at large. The things I have done for my people are obvious and I will continue helping Ssembabule,†he explained.
With a relatively lean purse, Ntumwa hopes the endorsement and promise of support from tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba and other influential district leaders will steer him to victory. Only last month, Basajjabalaba visited Ssembabule town council in the company of the presidential assistant on legal affairs, Joy Kabatsi and the Lwemiyaga MP, Ssekikubo and declared his support for Ntumwa.
Ntumwa, who hopes to contest as an NRM flag bearer, says he wants an end to the ‘Kutesa unopposed syndrome’. “This time he will have to sweat,†he said. Ntumwa, 36, explained that as a minister and businessman, Kutesa was too busy to address the issues of Mawogola.
Kutesa, the district NRM chairman, said: “I have a duty to win in Mawogola and to ensure that the NRM does not lose any seat in the district.â€
Whether Ntumwa can defeat Kutesa is not known but the calculation of the Ssentongo-Ssekikubo camp is to keep the minister busy in Mawogola so that he has less time to influence the polls elsewhere. “He is usually unopposed. This time we are going to give him some work in Mawogola,†Ntumwa said.
Kutesa’s strategy is to depict himself as a close associate to the President. At a rally in Lwebitakuli, Kutesa and his supporters displayed posters of President Yoweri Museveni, Kutesa and Kawooya. This alliance has been dubbed as ‘the 3K’ to mean; KAGUTA, KUTESA, KAWOOYA. Yellow T-shirts, with the inscription have been distributed in the district.
Sembabule Woman
Meanwhile, Joy Kabatsi will face her political nemesis, Hanifa Kawooya for the district woman MP seat. The two battled it out in 2006; Kawooya was declared winner and Kabatsi adduced evidence that there were malpractices that cost her victory. Court cancelled Kawooya’ election and in the resultant hotly contested by-election, Kabatsi was defeated again.
The contest in 2011 will be a replica of the others in terms of tempers and alliances. The stage has been set by Kabatsi’s announcement of a comeback. Kabatsi and her strategic allies; Ssekikubo, Ssentongo and financier, Basajabalaba are already positioning themselves for the challenge. The tug-of-war will be with Kawooya and her moneyed funder, Kutesa.
Kabatsi, who had vowed never to return to Ssembabule politics as long as Kutesa was alive, changed her mind when Museveni appointed her presidential assistant on legal affairs. The opposition has not yet shown interest in the district. The former DP candidate, Irene Lwanga, who trailed in the recent by-elections, is now the finance secretary in Masaka municipality.
LWEMIYAGA COUNTY
Elsewhere, Lwemiyaga MP, Theodore Ssekikubo has so far got three opponents; Patrick Nkalubo, Robert Baguma and US returnee, Michael Agaba. Ssekikubo hit the political scene in 2001 when he defeated former MP, Sam Rwakoojo who was later appointed as a secretary at the Electoral Commission.
Having teamed up with the equally youthful district boss, Ssentongo, the firebrand MP has always eyed Kutesa’s throne. He drew the anger of residents and the President when he attcked Kutesa on corruption in the district infront of the President.
It is perhaps not a surprise that one of his opponents is former Ssembabule chief administrative officer (CAO), Patrick Nkalubo, whom Ssekikubo accused of being involved in the bungling up of the NAADS programme in the district. Nkalubo lost to Ssekikubo in the 2006 primaries.
Nkalubo, who has gained ground, says he had the potential to unseat Ssekikubo in 2006 but the district NRM chairperson, Kutesa, advised him to respect the party flag bearer. “This time, Ssekikubo will not survive me in the party polls. I will get the NRM party flag for 2011. Ssekikubo has angered a lot of people with his indiscipline,†Nkalubo said.
Mateete sub-county assistant chief administrative officer Robert Baguma has also expressed interest in the Lwemiyaga seat. Baguma wants to launch his political career in the 2011 parliamentary elections.
“Ssekikubo is popular in Kampala but not on the ground. I have already done my ground work and I am ready to join the race,†he said.
Agaba, riding on the ‘just arrived from the US’ euphoria, is a Kampala-based businessman. He has become the darling of key NRM political players in Ssembabule and he is the man Ssekikubo should keenly watch.
Ssekikubo is also aware of the task ahead, having stepped on the toes of many people locally and in Kampala. He makes conspicuous trips to his constituency and organises meetings to strengthen his position and support.
HOIMA MUNICIPALITY
Hoima municipality was created in November 2008 but became effective on July 1, 2009. The municipality has four divisions; Mparo, Bujumbura, Busiisi and Kahoora. With just over a year of existence, the municipality has received proposals of suitors to become the pioneer representatives in Parliament. Those to tussle it out for the seat include; Muganwa Kajura, former Chief Administrative Officer Patrick Isingoma and youthful Richard Baguma, all on the NRM ticket.Patrick Baguma is the opposition candidate from FDC.
The 75-year-old Kajura, also the public service minister, has been in Cabinet since the NRM came to power in 1986, holding various portfolios. The minister, who is often referred to as a founder of the NRM by the President, is also the district party chairman. Kajura was MP for Bugahya county until he was dislodged by James Kiiza Rwebembera in 2006. It is not clear whether this could be the reason Kajura is relocating to Hoima Municipality, hoping to revamp his political career.
Kajura is the most senior politician in Bunyoro and influences several issues in the region. However, this influence could work against him.
Local politicians accuse him using his position to frustrate the activities of opposition politicians such as the mayor, Francis Atugonza. But the soft-spoken politician dismisses the charge: “We are not fighting them. Why would a minister like me fight Atugonza. They are small men who want to paint us as bad people so that people can think that they are being fought by big men,†Kajura stated.
Atugonza, with a big following in Hoima town, was arrested and charged with abuse of office in December. He, like his FDC boss Kizza Besigye, has said the arrest was politically motivated and claimed that the anti-corruption Police detectives who arrested him travelled to Hoima in Kajura’s vehicle.
Nonetheless, the alleged witch-hunt of opposition leaders in Bunyoro by government officials is likely to be a big campaign issue in the build up to the 2011 general elections. Opposition politicians are already portraying their side as being oppressed by the NRM.
Former Hoima CAO, Patrick Mwesigwa Isingoma, 49, also hopes to be endorsed as the NRM candidate for the municipality. Isingoma holds a masters degree and doctorate in public administration. But his knowledge is not theoretical alone.
He has hands on experience, having served as CAO for 10 years (1996-2006), worked in the ministries of local government and works and is now plying his trade as a management consultant.
Isingoma says Hoima Municipality will benefit from the experience he has collected along the way. During his 10-year service as CAO, he initiated the construction of the new district headquarters at Kasingo in 2004 before he was forced out of office. However, he won a case against the Government for unlawful dismissal. “People have asked me to stand as MP because they are missing my services,†said Isingoma.
“The area needs to shed off the old people who have been creating problems. The region is pro-Movement but the problem causers are within,†he stated.
Richard Baguma, is a businessman in Hoima and the surrounding districts. He will be standing on a Movement ticket, should the party primaries go in his favour. And what he will do for his people once he is elected is already tailor-made for him: “I will follow the NRM manifesto,†he promises.
Patrick Baguma, the vice-chairman of FDC in Western Uganda, is man not to be discounted. Initially a Kampala-based businesses man, he quickly rose to prominence when he contested for Bugahya county. He features prominently and regularly at FDC functions and makes time for radio talk shows to market his candidature and party. Baguma stood in Bugahya in the last elections and has directed his second attempt at the municipality.
MBALE MUNICIPALITY
FORMER Mbale Municipality MP, Wilfred Kajeke disappointed his supporters when he resigned on December 20, 2009. Similarly, the Basoga in Budiope could be mourning the tragic death of their MP, Henry Balikoowa. However, the two incidents provide the electorate a blessing in disguise; a curtain raiser, or is it a rehearsal ahead of the 2011 elections. The Electoral Commission is organising by-elections in the two areas.
In Mbale municipality, seven aspirants are eyeing the seat whose winner will be known by February. While it is not a sure deal that the winner in the by-election will automatically reclaim the seat next year, he could enjoy the power of incumbency, plead to complete unfinished tasks or be ditched by voters, depending on the impression made in just one year as MP.
That opportunity is available for NRM’s; Waswa Masokoyi, Patrick Makweta, James Mutende, John Wamboko Wekesa, Patrick Mutono and Emmanuel Matysetyse or FDC’s Jackson Wamanga Wamai. It also beckons DP’s Gerald Siranda and UPC’s Eric Joseph Sakwa and Amos David Walyemera.
Mbale district NRM chairman Jerome Mayantsa said after a flag-bearer for the party is chosen during the primaries, the other five NRM aspirants are obliged to support him.
Masokoyi, who works at the Mbale based Islamic University, is familiar with the Mbale Municipality electorate, having once stood against the late former NRM kingpin in Bugisu region, James Wapakhabulo.
Makweta is a businessman and the chairman of Uganda National Chamber of Commerce in Mbale. He represents the business community on the NRM National Executive Committee (NEC). He says he does not rule out the possibility of standing as an Independent if he is not picked as the flag bearer.
Matysetyse is the director of Mbale Tigers Table Tennis Club. Mutende holds a doctorate in investment economics and is currently working with the Uganda Investment Authority. Wamboko Wekesa is the head of Makerere University’s computer science department, while Mutono is a medical doctor who at one time challenged health minister Stephen Mallinga in Butebo, in the neighbouring Pallisa district, and lost.
Mutende confesses to eyeing the seat for the 2011 polls and that Kajeke’s resignation just brought forward and accelerated his ambition.
Matysetyse says Mbale Municipality does not need a job seeker to become its MP, while Mutono’s verdict is that the state of affairs in the municipality shows it is at a standstill.
Wamai, a retired diplomat, now businessman, will be praying that the voters who sent Kajeke to Parliament on an FDC ticket are still intact and loyal. His biggest hurdle could be explaining why Kajeke ‘abused’ their trust.
The voters in the municipality by-election are likely to look to a candidate with the capacity to address issues that include; poor infrastructure and land grabbing. In the 2006 parliamentary elections NRM lost to FDC because voters did not support Hassan Wasswa Galiwango, a non Mugisu.
Youthful Gerald Siranda, 27, hopes to make DP taste victory in this eastern town. Siranda, who works with Makerere University refugee project stood in 2006 as an Independent candidate. “Since my party believes in truth and justice, I want Mbale to promote truth and justice in decision making, development and accountability,†Siranda said.
Mbale UPC chairman, David Nyote, said Eric Joseph Sakwa Joseph and Amos David Walyemera had been sent to the party headquarters in Kampala for a decision on the flag bearer. Sakwa says he wants Mbale to regain its past glory as the cleanest town in Uganda.
KIGULU SOUTH
DURING the run-up to the 2006 parliamentary polls, the former Vice-President, Specioza Kazibwe bowed out of the Kigulu South MP race. Perhaps after losing the vice-presidency, she saw no point of returning as a mere MP.
Kazibwe anointed the then Iganga district youth councilor, Milton Muwuma, to tussle it out with her arch-rival and former Busia RDC, George Patrick Bageya. It should be remembered that during the 2001 national elections, Kazibwe and the former information minister, the late Basoga Nsadhu, had their combined political influence to have Bageya defeated by current Iganga LC5 chairman, Asuman Kyafu.
Bageya, who was defeated at the NRM party preliminary polls stood as an independent and put up a spirited fight. He, however lost to Muwuma by only 700 votes.
Now with only a few months to go, Muwuma and Kyafu are in an obvious two-man race for the parliamentary seat they conspired to deny a common enemy four years ago. However, one cannot rule out the candidates who surface at the last minute to make the contest more interesting.
According to Bulamagi LC3 chairman, Abdullah Balunywa, the incumbent MP attends almost every wedding, funeral and school function he is invited to. There is also a sizable number of less privileged students whose welfare he caters for. That is a plus in a region where poverty levels are alarming.
Muwuma also stood with the people of Nabirye village in Nakalama sub-county during a land wrangle with Madhvani Group of Companies.
He established a started a boda-boda scheme for the idle youth in Iganga. However, he failed to help constituents open up a new road after a key access road was closed by Iganga Boys Boarding School management. The alternative road, sanctioned by Busoga Church of Uganda Diocese, only leads to the new church premises. Muwuma was consequently dragged to court for trespass on a school land.
No wonder Kyafu made use of the road standoff. “The MP and head teacher wanted to show each other who is stronger but reached a stalemate. That is when they realised that it is me, the district authority they had ignored,†Kyafu stated.
Kyafu is the district NRM chairman under whose patronage the 2006 party primaries poll went in Muwuma’s favour. His oratory skills are unquestionable and have propelled him to higher places in the past.
However, as a Chaka mchaka (cadre course) instructor before 2001, he exercised a degree of brutality for which the local participants have never forgiven him. Similarly, he would have to explain why he chose to side with Madhvani Group in a land wrangle. Excess baggage includes, the district’s decision to take advantage of the lack of a Kyabazinga to sell Busoga kingdom land at Kigulu chiefdom palace in Iganga town. Many voters also ask Kyafu’s what he has to show for 10 years term as Iganga district chairman.
KYANKWANZI
Kyankwanzi district could be less than a month old after its creation in December but already residents are positioning themselves for the elective positions. It was curved out of Kiboga district. As such, the centre of attraction is Kiboga West constituency, where Ndawula Kaweesi is the incumbent.
The NRM treasurer will face off with Radio Simba news caster, Hajji Abu Ssemwogerere, a former Constituent Assembly (CA) delegate, Robinson Katumba, Mengo Hospital’s John Mpuuga and Dan Balekye.
Ssemwogerere has used the Kampala-based Luganda radio station to market himself. His proficiency in English and rich Luganda as articulated during his radio programmes has given him priceless publicity and assisted him to gain popularity. He is also the current assistant chief finance officer of Mukono district.
Katumba, the former CA delegate can claim that having helped draft the 1995 Constitution, it is right and fitting that he participates in using it to check the Government excesses and the over-sight role of Parliament.
Katumba who recently defected from DP joined the NRM which enjoys an easy ride in the district. He strategically declared his intentions to unseat Kaweesi during the Kiboga district NRM conference.
On his part, Kaweesi has vowed to continue representing Kiboga until he retires. He argues that the new Kyankwanzi district needs an experienced MP who will lobby for the required funds to prop up and develop it.
Kaweesi has represented Kiboga West for three consecutive terms. On his successes, he boasts of the rural electrification programmes in Nsambya, Ntwetwe, Wattuba, Mulagi and Butemba sub-counties, despite the poor road network in the area.
Balekye promises effective representation for the people of Kyankwanzi.
Makerere University trained Dr. Mpuuga, worked at Mengo Hospital and is in charge of Ntwetwe Health Centre IV. He said he wants to improve the education and health standards of the new district.
COMPILED BY;
Henry Mukasa, Joseph Wanzusi, Dismus Buregyeya, George Bita, Paskal Kwesiga, John Niyonzima
CONTACT EMAIL:
Saturday@newvision.co.ug