Mr George Musisi does not mince his words during the interview. He tells The Transcript that he is not a ‘clone’ of Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda. In January, Mr Musisi pulled off what many interpreted as an upset win over Mr Ssemujju in what turned out to be a lopsided parliamentary race.
Mr Ssemujju, who had served as a legislator from 2011 to 2026, was much-loved for his no-holds-barred style that spared President Museveni no criticism. But in January, voters in Kira Municipality opted to throw their weight behind Mr Musisi of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
‘I didn’t even promise to be a copy of Hon Ssemujju. In any case, I contested against him for the same seat, and people made a choice,’ Mr Musisi says
He adds: ‘If people wanted me to be a copy of him, they would not have elected me because they would have said, how do you go for a [duplicate] copy if there is an original. Every person comes with their own strength and style.’
Keen to carve out his own style, Mr Musisi opened an office in Kira Municipality. He says:’On average, a week, at least 40 people walk through it for different reasons.’ The underlying theme of the visits is help or assistance. Mostly financial.
‘I have been very deliberate in meeting people regularly. Since we finished elections, out of the 54 villages of Kira, I have been to 50 of them. The essence is that even if you go for burials, people will give you their views. We are going to hold consultative meetings at all the parishes of Kira to hear from people on what they want to be addressed,’ Mr Musisi tells The Transcript.
But it is not just the representation role that has his hands full. The oversight role is just as demanding, with Mr Musisi deputising Mr Muwada Nkunyingi as the head of the House Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase).
‘We inherited work which would have been cleared by the 11th Parliament-that is the Auditor General’s Report of 2024-2025. It’s very heavy, because as a Committee, we have over 150 entities to investigate,’ Mr Musisi discloses
He adds: ‘And Parliament has given us only six months to clear up this backlog. So, I think we’re left with less than three months within which to clear before we wait for our own fresh bulk, which will come in December.’
Petition
Mr Musisi also finds himself having to navigate an election petition. Not from Mr Ssemujju, who is currently exiled, but from Mr Daniel Kananura of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). The petition, Mr Musisi tells The Transcript, is not giving him sleepless nights. It is, however, eating away at time that could have been devoted to parliamentary work, including Cosase meetings, which some days occupy an inordinate amount of time-from 9am to 5pm.
‘I’m not worried because, first of all, even if you look at the case, the petitioner doesn’t seem to allege anything against me. He also doesn’t seem to say anything,’ Mr Musisi says.
He adds: ‘Not even one of his votes was stolen or rigged. His case is built on speculation because he says the deployment of the army stopped his would-be voters from voting. That’s the gist of his case.’
Away from the petition, Mr Musisi says the shrinking civic space in the country does to him what Mr Kananura has failed to do-have him worried.
A number of marquee political figures have been exiled because of this democratic backsliding. It’s not just Mr Musisi’s predecessor in the House but also his party president, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine. Ditto Dr Lina Zedriga Waru, the NUP deputy president. The leading Opposition party, with 49 legislators, is barely scraping by with John Baptist Nambeshe, a backbench commissioner, holding the fort.
Mr Musisi is not in doubt about what has occasioned NUP’s travails post the 2026 General Election that returned President Museveni for a seventh elective term.
‘You know that the… [army] has called NUP terrorists. They have said that it’s a terrorist organisation. So, all those issues are meant, and it becomes increasingly difficult when you’re a leader [in the Opposition]. So, it’s a tightrope that anyone should be doing.’
Against all odds
Notwithstanding, Mr Musisi says he is soldiering on. The Kira Municipality legislator says while many thought he would find Mr Ssemujju’s shoes too big to fill, ‘I tell them I don’t have any big shoes to fill, I carried my own pair.’
He is particularly happy about the two matters of national importance he has raised on the floor of the House regarding Kira. One of them, he says, has even been handled by the Works and Transport minister.
‘That was the issue of the Kampala-Jinja Expressway, which is going to go through an area of Kira called Namataba, and there are some people who were affected by it. They were assessed as project-affected persons in 2017, and they are stopped from developing, utilising, or even selling off their properties, and they are yet to be compensated since 2017,’ he notes, adding:’We raised it, the minister responded, the minister has scheduled a visit there, and, of course, we know that they are going to start working on the re-evaluation, because it’s been a long time since the assessments.’
The second issue pivots around Kasokoso and the now defunct Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), making his first three months in the House ‘quite good.’
Away from parliamentary work, Mr Musisi lets his hair down by playing volleyball. ‘I’m part of the Parliamentary Volleyball Team, so I play volleyball with other members, which is also good exercise. But even when I do, I ensure I run out by 8.30am. So, I’m in Parliament. Actually, what happens is that you have to have breakfast prior to [parliamentary work], because when you sit from 9am, sometimes you sit the whole day [without eating anything].’
‘So far so good’
Mr Musisi says the exhausting work shift that he and other legislators put up with means the 12th Parliament has covered itself in glory. Thus far.
‘We should remember one of the problems that people have complained most about the 11th Parliament was the disempowering of Parliament as an institution. So, looking at how the 12th Parliament has started, and yes, even the Speaker rightly mentioned that it may be too early to celebrate, but I can’t imagine that the honeymoon is done,’ he says.
‘I think the first quarter has been Parliament trying its best to do what it should be doing. I think the only thing that we haven’t done as a Parliament is legislation because we haven’t processed any Bill yet in terms of the 12th Parliament, but all other issues-in terms of oversight, in terms of representation-it has hit off on a good note,’ he adds.