First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs Ms Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has dismissed social media rumours claiming that she is critically ill, describing them as false, sponsored, and part of what she termed a growing business of online abuse.
Speaking at her home shortly after attending Christmas prayers at St Paul’s Church, Mbulamuti, in Kamuli District, Ms Kadaga said she was in good health and warned against the reckless use of social media to spread misinformation.
‘I am fine. I am alive. I have just come from church,’ Ms Kadaga said, adding: ‘There are people who are paid to abuse others on social media. If they don’t do it, they are not paid. It has become a big business, and it is sponsored.’
She said she was resting after a period of intense political activity but remained fully engaged in her duties and political mobilisation.
‘I am resting, and it is not a big issue. I am busy doing my work. My voters are still there. You saw how many votes I scored during the primaries. That was a college system; this time it is universal suffrage, and I expect a much bigger margin,’ she said.
Ms Kadaga, who is seeking re-election for the Kamuli District Woman MP seat, said she does not interfere with other aspirants or speak ill of her opponents, stressing that democracy thrives on open political competition.
‘Let the population choose. Give people a chance to decide. If you close the door to competition and then claim to be democratic, that is hypocrisy,’ she said, adding that voters would ultimately decide on polling day.
Her remarks follow widespread online speculation about her health, which her aides say was fuelled by campaign fatigue after an extensive mobilisation drive in support of President Museveni.
Last week, her chief campaigner, Mr Felix Isabirye, said Ms Kadaga was on health leave after spearheading Museveni’s campaign in the Busoga sub-region and later continuing mobilisation in other parts of the country.
There had been circulating reports on social media claiming that Ms Kadaga had been airlifted to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi in critical condition.
Ms Kadaga has served in Parliament continuously since 1989, making her one of Uganda’s longest-serving legislators, with more than three decades in national politics.