‘Today I officially join X to take part in the conversation of the Uganda we want,’ was Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda’s first sentence on any social media platform.
Posted 11:28 am June 1, it captioned a video in which the maverick politician introduced himself to the X republicans, many of whom were fearing missing his usually bold, insightful and well-researched submissions on the floor of Parliament, some of which he extends them into mainstream media platforms.
He carved his name, first as a fearless investigative journalist, and then an opposition legislator since 2011, where his sharp commentary did not spare even the most feared figures of the land.
But in this social media era, Ssemujju’s absence on Facebook, or X, formerly Twitter, was too conspicuous, even though some of his videos have been trending on the platform.
‘This is the official handle for Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, the Secretary General of the People’s Front for Freedom-PFF and Former MP Kira Municipality,’ said his profile, beneath a mugshot in his trademark posture, his eyes not directly into the camera.
His handle is @SsemujjuIN. If any post by Ibrahim Ssemujju rubbed you the wrong way, blame someone else behind that parody account. Of course, Ssemujju is aware of that impersonation, hence this disclaimer. ‘There are many people operating platforms in my name until today and I was not operating any social media accounts,’ he said in the video.
So, ‘Please take note that this is my official Twitter X account and I will be updating you, where necessary share with you information.’
Well, in this era of truths, lies and contradictions, you have not believe him. But until you find concrete alternative truth, your suspicion will remain just that-suspicion.
But Ssemujju’s star is already shinning in the X skies. At 4:17, the account had hit the 10,000 mark, just over fours, of his debut.
‘Ssemujju Nganda (@SsemujjuIN has 10k followers in less than a day. Yalogeddewa?’ one Festo Kato wondered, insinuating this is witchcraft.
Comments
The comments that welcomed Ssemujju were typical of X Republic. Some flattering. Some shattering.
‘You spent 15 years discussing Uganda in a wrong place. Welcome comrade, one said.
‘Well done on your first tweet. Now pay Elon and verify the account,’ wrote another.
‘Long overdue. Welcome aboard,’ one Patrick Oyulu commented.
‘Well, when life comes at you,’ wrote Jacobs Odongo Seaman, a seasoned and gifted journalist.
‘After losing elections, now you are coming back to people, now you want us to interact with you when you’re no longer in parliament why didn’t you open it up when you were in parliament?’ one PLU Ambassador wrote.
‘I don’t think you will ever be elected as a member of parliament again…,’ said Offroad Saints, triggering venomous replies from Ssemujju fanatics. ‘Stupid,’ one said. ‘You can now replace him in parliament,’ said another. ‘Mental illness is dangerous,’ said another, among others.
When I pitched the story to our online editor at 8:20pm, the account had over 18000 followers. Barely 30 minutes later, it had hit the 20,000 follower mark. Two hours later it was approaching 25000 followers. Phenomenal.
You may wonder why the arguably boldest and most vocal legislator of the past three parliaments had left the social media bandwagon to pass. But one his former journalism students at the Islamic University In Uganda, described him as old school. ‘Not the kind easily excited by any trend.’
It makes sense. You will mostly see him in blue suits, blue tie and a sky blue or white shirt. During the Tojikwatako chaos in 2017, he added a red tarboush, a Muslim cap, that also served as a symbol defiance against the removal of the presidential age limit from the Constitution.
Following, especially famous, accounts is one of the ways of attracting followers on X. But the eccentric Ssemujju had not followed anyone by 11pm on his first day.
‘Follow me back nkuwe ku masannyalaze,’ said one Gabriel Buule, who has garnered 177,000 followers since 2011, claiming that following him back would give Ssemujju’s account more visibility and traffic. But as it stands, Ssemujju may not need anyone’s masannyalaze. His voltage is above the rest, so far.