Common Man’s Party presidential candidate Mubarak Munyagwa has de-campaigned state minister for water Aisha Sekindi and senior presidential advisor Vincent Ssempijja, arguing that both politicians have failed to improve living standards in Kalungu District.
Sekindi is seeking a third term as Kalungu District Woman MP, while Ssempijja aims to return as Kalungu East MP after a five-year hiatus.
Speaking during a campaign rally in Kalungu Town on Wednesday, Munyagwa told the crowd that the veteran leaders had nothing to show despite holding key government positions.
‘I have seen campaign posters of Minister Sekindi and Mzee Ssempijja. Both want votes to go to Parliament, but with these bad roads I have seen in Kalungu and households which don’t have electricity, don’t waste your votes on such people. They are in the ruling National Resistance Movement which has been in power for 40 years and have failed to deliver basic services to you,’ he said amid applause.
Data from the Kalungu District headquarters indicates that an electrification project started in March 2019 left 5,800 households unconnected.
Out of 41,405 households, only 8,188 (19.8 percent) have electricity, while 25,765 (62.2 percent) rely on tin lamps for lighting.
During an August 31 rally organised by NRM legislators under the Buganda for Museveni pressure group, Sekindi admitted the district faces land disputes, with some residents threatened with eviction.
She said the Ministry of Lands is compensating landlords to allow tenants to settle peacefully on untitled plots.
In a phone interview, Sekindi dismissed Munyagwa’s remarks, calling him a ‘political failure’ with no authority to comment on local politics.
‘That is his opinion and he has a right to think like that, though people of Kalungu think otherwise. They know what we have done for them, and that is why they voted us in power, when he was chased out of Kawempe South Constituency it was a vote of no confidence in him as a leader,’ she told Monitor.
Sekindi is contesting against Aisha Waliggo (Democratic Front), Zzinga Shakirah (National Unity Platform), and Hellen Nakeeya (NRM), while Ssempijja faces incumbent Francis Katabaazi (Independent), Yusuf Kiruruta (NUP), Deo Katongole (Independent), Irene Nanyanzi (Independent), Mathias Kintu (DF), and Asuman Kabonge (DP).
Munyagwa also criticized the government’s universal primary and secondary education scheme, citing poor implementation and lack of a feeding programme.
‘The universal primary and secondary education programme which lacks a clear feeding programme cannot deliver good products. That is the reason why beneficiaries drop out of school and those who complete are not competitive in the job market,’ he said.
He pledged that, if elected president, his administration would introduce a feeding programme in all public schools and increase teacher salaries.
During the January 2021 presidential elections, Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, defeated President Museveni in the Buganda region. In Kalungu District, Kyagulanyi garnered 38,352 votes against Museveni’s 16,377.