Mr Abdu Katuntu’s 25-year spell as Bugweri County MP ended last Thursday when he garnered 17,053 votes against NRM’s Sadala Wandera’s 24,624.
Mr Julius Galisonga, who contested against Mr Katuntu for the same seat in 2021, attributes Katuntu’s loss to his alleged ‘dishonesty’ and ‘unreliability’.
‘At one point, he (Katuntu) said he wasn’t going to contest; and if you say you won’t contest and again go against your own word, does that make you honest or dishonest?’ Mr Galisonga asked in an interview with the Monitor on Tuesday.
Mr Katuntu in 2019 announced that he was not seeking re-election in the 2021 General Election, claiming that about two decades in parliament were enough for him, having represented his people since 2001. He revealed that he was set to focus on ‘private things’.
‘I am not offering myself as a candidate for the elections as a MP for Bugweri County. I promised my people and the whole country. After 20 years, I think it is time to move on,’ Mr Katuntu said at the time.
But a few months later, Katuntu was also quoted as saying; ‘I had made a pronouncement that I would not stand again, but this time, the people I represent sat me down and said you cannot leave at this time. They said, ‘Please continue to represent us’.’
In that poll, Mr Katuntu stood as an Independent, defeating Mr Galisonga who was the flagbearer for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), a party the former had subscribed to since 2001.
Last year, Mr Katuntu was seen alongside NRM’s Second National Vice Chairperson (Female), Ms Anita Among, during a rally in Bugweri District, fueling speculation that he had joined the ruling party. He pledged to support President Yoweri Museveni’s government in implementing development programmes.
The legislator, who contested in last week’s polls as an independent candidate, with the symbol of a chair, said his decision to seek another term was driven by ‘his desire to consolidate development gains achieved during his tenure’.
Mr Galisonga says when Mr Katuntu promised not to seek re-election, he reportedly encouraged him (Galisonga) to contest and introduced him to several opinion leaders in Bugweri District.
‘I started spending money and when I was running away with votes, his supporters attacked me, leading to the death of one of my supporters called Azed. I couldn’t organise under such circumstances, but resolved to support any candidate to see that he doesn’t retain that seat,’ Mr Galisonga added.
Throughout the campaign period, Mr Galisonga supported eventual winner Sadala, whom he described as being ‘grounded’ and ‘humble’.
‘The videos are a true representation of my feelings. Sadala has been helping people around and when he expressed interest in the Bugweri parliamentary seat, I mobilised my supporters to vote for him. I wasn’t supposed to be in Uganda, but cut short my three-month study in London to camp in Bugweri,’ said Mr Galisonga.
Asked to point out some of Mr Katuntu’s strengths, Mr Galisonga said: ‘Having observed him at close quarters, I have only observed weaknesses, where many see strengths.
He also downplayed his perceived animosity towards Mr Katuntu as being personal, saying: ‘It isn’t personal but out of principle; even if he goes out to contest as LC1 chairman, I will go and fight him.’
Katuntu responds
Mr Katuntu says Mr Galisonga is interested in politics of hatred. ‘If he is involved and takes pride in politics of hatred; that is his problem,’ he said.
Mr Galisonga, however, says there is nothing to hate about Mr Katuntu whom he has known for the past 25 years.
‘I hate his posturing as a paragon of politics,’ he says.
Bugweri FDC chairperson, Ms Farida Namudiba, says Mr Katuntu was voted out over his longevity in Parliament.
‘After 25 years, people wanted change, and there are those who saw him as not being developmental. He gave out hoes, but if you give me a cluster of bananas, does it amount to having given me a bunch?’ she asked.
BACKGROUND
Mr Galisonga says he has known Mr Katuntu since the 2000s. ‘I had known his brother as a close friend and Old Boy of Butiki (Kira College), and also later worked with him as a (legal) colleague, starting with representing Grace Wanzala Kiirya versus Migereko, a case I took over from him.’
The two later worked on several cases together, including representing the current Kampala City Lord Mayor, Mr Erias Lukwago, as he challenged the Bamugemereire report on land matters.