On Monday, when Harriet Chemutai-the head of the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Elections Management Committee (EMC)-handed over to the party’s principal, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the long-awaited list of endorsed parliamentary candidates for next year’s election, pandemonium was expected to follow. And it has. For the entirety of this term, questions have been asked about what Uganda’s leading Opposition party would do to its so-called rebels. The term ‘rebels’ in NUP has two classifications.
The first includes Members of Parliament (MPs) who drifted to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party as soon as they won seats in Parliament in 2021. These included Twaha Kagabo (Bukoto South), Bashir Kazibwe Mbaziira (Kawempe South) and Jimmy Lwanga (Njeru Municipality). The three chose not to subject themselves to the EMC’s processes ahead of the selection of NUP flag-bearers in the next elections.
Another category of rebels emerged when NUP had a grand fallout with its then deputy president in charge of the Buganda Region, Mathias Mpuuga. This was over the so-called Shs500m service award. Once the fallout came to light, NUP honchos made it clear to its 50-odd MPs that they had to choose between the party and Mpuuga. Some like Hillary Kiyaga, alias Dr Hilderman (Mawokota North); Michael Kakembo Mbwatekamwa (Entebbe Municipality); Joyce Bagala (Mityana District Woman Representative); Juliet Nakabuye Kakande (Masaka City Woman Representative); Medard Lubega Sseggona (Busiro East); Abed Bwanika (Kimaanya-Kabonero); and Veronica Nanyondo (Bukomansimbi Woman Representative) tilted towards Mpuuga.
Consequently, Nakabuye, Mbwatekamwa and Bwanika didn’t bother to subject themselves to the NUP processes when nominations got underway. This was after they moved to Mpuuga’s Democratic Front (DF). The ‘rebels’ who appeared before NUP’s EMC included Sseggona, Kiyaga, Nanyondo and Bagala. Of these, only Kiyaga and Nanyondo have reclaimed the NUP tickets. Sseggona and Bagala were thrown out. The decision to throw out Sseggona, arguably one of the best constitutional lawyers in the country, and replace him with Kadongo Kamu musician Mathias Walukagga, who can barely express himself in English, has shocked many. Sources within NUP, however, told Saturday Monitor that it wasn’t a shock since the party had long moved on from the veteran politician.
Sseggona fallout
NUP’s move to deny Sseggona the ticket is largely attached to his move to side with Mpuuga during the service award standoff. Sseggona made it even clearer to the electorate that he was not going to sign a motion fronted by Theodore Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County legislator, aimed at punishing Mpuuga. ‘I am a wise and educated man. Those who are signing are just excited over nothing. They are just abusing Mpuuga for no reason. They were in Parliament when the budget [for service awards] was tabled. It is the same budget where [Moses] Kigongo, [Edward] Ssekandi, and [Rebecca] Kadaga were given money as former speakers,” he said, adding: ‘When you talk, they shout at you. When you keep quiet, they say you were compromised. Who amongst us sleeps hungry?’
Sseggona said the entire House was to blame for the service award. He also had a few choice words for NUP principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, for mishandling the service award saga. ‘If you are a leader and you are the first to make such a statement, it’s wrong because as a leader, when you speak, nobody else is going to speak,’ Sseggona said, referring to Bobi Wine.
Sources say, with that, NUP had had enough of Sseggona. ‘There was no way back for Sseggona. He didn’t apologise. He didn’t try to reach out to the party’s leadership after making statements,’ a source familiar with NUP’s decision-making, said. Unlike Sseggona, who clearly rebelled, Walukagga has been using musical concerts to show how he is loyal to Bobi Wine, and he believes that put him ahead of those who were jostling to replace Sseggona. ‘At Maggere,’ Walukagga said, referring to Bobi Wine’s home in Kasangati township. ‘I can enter any time. I don’t need an appointment.’
Though NUP had credible alternatives-such as businessman Emmanuel Magoola and Allan Ssempala Kigozi-to replace Sseggona, sources say once the EMC tested the ground to inform their decision-making process, they discovered that Walukagga was immensely popular. ‘It’s clear that Sseggona was out of NUP’s calculations, leaving Walukagga the strongest on the ground when compared to other people [Magoola and Kigozi]. It had to be Walukagga because he is too strong on [the] ground and he is one of their own,’ a source familiar with NUP decision-making processes said.
Ex-DP members unwelcome?
Sseggona, who on Wednesday confirmed that he will seek to return to the House as an Independent, said politics shouldn’t be treated ‘as a joke’ that is a preserve for ‘comedians and clowns.’ He also reckons getting rid of him isn’t attached to Mpuuga’s conundrum but rather NUP has wanted to get rid of ‘them.’ By ‘them’ Sseggona seems to be alluding to the Democratic Party (DP) members who decamped to NUP in the run-up to the 2021 elections. The theory is that these former members haven’t been fully embraced by NUP’s honchos and thus have been thrown out one after the other.
To some extent, this theory holds water in the sense that many of the former DP members have been denied tickets in favour of people who are said to have the NUP DNA. This became apparent in the NUP flag-bearer race for Kawempe Division Mayorship. The race pitted Emmanuel Sserunjongi, alias Ow’eddembe, who is deemed to be loyal to NUP leadership at Kavule Makerere, against Latif Ssebaggala Ssengendo, a former DP member. Sserunjongi beat Ssebaggala to the flag, forcing the latter to declare his intention to stand as an Independent.
Another example is the tussle for who would be NUP’s flag-bearer for Wakiso District chairperson. The race pitted Emmanuel Kigozi Ssempala, alias Ssajjalyabeene, a former DP member, against Nasiifu Najja, who is one of Bobi Wine’s aides. Before NUP emerged as a political force in 2021, Ssempala had been the legislator of Makindye Ssebagabo Municipality, formerly known as Kyaddondo South. Yet in 2021, after decamping, he was denied the NUP ticket in favour of David Sserukenya. Still, Ssempala defied NUP and stood as an Independent, but Sserukenya was too powerful as he emerged victorious with 35,892 votes. Thus, when Ssempala applied to be the NUP flagbearer for Wakiso District chair, it didn’t come as a surprise that he was easily turned down in favour of Najja, who is considered to have a NUP DNA.
Bagala shunned
This battle between people who are considered to have DP roots was on play in the battle for Mityana District Woman representative. The battle pitted Bagala, a former DP member, against Prossy Mukisa Nabbosa, who is considered to be close to Mityana Municipality legislator Francis Zaake, who is, in turn, said to be close to Bobi Wine.
Bagala was among the NUP members who initially threw their weight behind Mpuuga, saying they have a similar political background, meaning DP. Bagala was among the masterminds of Mpuuga’s much-vaunted thanksgiving service last year in Masaka City. Bagala had been dropped from the shadow cabinet where she had served as Information minister, as soon as her ally Mpuuga was dropped by Kyagulanyi as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP). The LoP reins were promptly handed to Joel Ssenyonyi, who is considered to have the NUP DNA.
Bagala, nevertheless, opted to stay put in NUP in favour of joining the DF. She reportedly sent emissaries to NUP’s top honchos, saying how she was repentant, adding that she had never disassociated herself from NUP in the first place. Bagala, who was now facing a challenge from Nabbosa, started appearing at NUP’s headquarters, something that she had stopped doing after associating herself with Mpuuga. Our sources say it seemed at one point that Bagala had been given the thumbs-up for the NUP ticket ahead of Nabbosa. When the final list emerged, however, the incumbent had been dumped. ‘Losing the party card is not the end of the journey,’ Bagala said, insisting that she was going to stand as an Independent. ‘My commitment to the people of Mityana remains unshaken, because leadership is about service, not symbols.’
Olive branch extended
NUP’s top brass has not been entirely unforgiving. Kiyaga was among the people who were considered to be out after saying he couldn’t criticise Mpuuga on account of the latter being a Muganda and a Catholic. Sources say in previous months, Kiyaga has been sending apologies to the NUP honchos that could have made them rethink their position.
‘He has put in a lot of effort to see that his apologies are accepted. Additionally, the vetting committee had to assess the alternatives they had in place. If they weren’t convincing in terms of popularity, then they had to accept the apologies,’ a source familiar with NUP decision making said. This means NUP picked Kiyaga because, among the alternatives they had, he stands a better chance of defeating NRM’s Amelia Kyambadde, who has thrown her hat into the ring again.
Another rebel with DP roots who has been forgiven is Nanyondo of Bukomansimbi. Nanyondo infamously had a standoff with LoP Ssenyonyi over her refusal to sign Ssekikubo’s motion. In fact, Nanyondo withdrew her signature from the motion, saying LoP Ssenyonyi had tricked her into doing so.
‘As you know, I arrived late at the meeting and the issue of censure was not mentioned, but various other issues were discussed. The list I signed, I thought it was an attendance list,’ Nanyondo said. ‘But when I left the meeting, I realised that it was a censure list, and yet those who were signing were present at the table. If I were to sign, there is still more time to do so.’
NUP’s decision to give Nanyondo the ticket in the Bukomansimbi Woman Representative race, sources say, is informed by a lack of a better alternative.
‘I don’t think they like Nanyondo a lot, but they looked at the alternatives and came to the conclusion that they had to stomach her. That’s the difference with Busiro East, where they felt they could do away with Sseggona because he isn’t popular on the ground. Sseggona’s opponents like Walukagga are popular,’ a source familiar with NUP’s vetting process said.