Politics is an expensive venture, Kiira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda has come to learn.
Ssemujju reveals in an interview with NBS TV’s Face Off with Oscar Semweya-Musoke how he had sworn never to contest for any elective position.
However, as it turned out, the man in him saw him vie for Parliament. Ssemujju’s earlier fears have now come to haunt him.
The corona virus which forced the country into a lock down has drained the Kiira Municipality MP’s wallet.
He is having to feed tens and hundreds of his constituency family. Ssemujju confirmed in a talk show on Capital Gang, he was exploding and needed help.
When Parliament announced the Shs10Bn Covid-19 facilitation, the legislator was the first to hit the roof. He said then he would not even waste no time to pick the money from his account.
In the interview with NBS TV he goes on to break it down to the angry population why he did not take the same path as Robert Kyagulanyi, Mathias Mpuuga, Col. Fred Mwesigye, Francis Zaake, Mubarak Munyagwa and Gerald Karuhanga.
Ssemujju Nganda: The Ugandan Parliament has 456 MPs but only 100 are sitting. So, procedures are not followed. Even the scrutiny can’t happen under such circumstances. Most of the committees have been demobilized.
Ssemujju Nganda: People should understand how parliament works. Around this time, there are very many things that have changed about
Ssemujju Nganda: The reason you have seen the salary and allowance of MPs going up is that they have constituency issues to deal with and not because they are greedy.
Ssemujju Nganda: completely broken down, it is an insult to say I am pocketing money like I am going to use it to buy a piece of land.
Ssemujju Nganda: The maneuvering you see in parliament is not because MPs are greedy. They are under pressure from their constituencies to do these things.
Ssemujju Nganda: When you are outside, you speak against these things. Even inside, I have tried my best. The only thing that has broken me is starvation.
Ssemujju Nganda: The genuine conversation that this country will need to have is how they want to facilitate politicians to do politics and what type of politics they want them to do.
Ssemujju Nganda: All MPs (even those in the opposition) do what the NRM MPs are doing including seedlings distribution. Because of the total breakdown of the government, we have found ourselves doing things that should be done by them.
Ssemujju Nganda: I used to despise politics and my role model was Professor Apolo Nsibambi. The media in Uganda does not keep history. I had said at one time that I would never contest for any elective position in Uganda because I saw politicians went through.
Sssemujju: But by accident, around 2000, the Daily Monitor sent me to cover parliament because they had promoted the senior parliamentary reporters and created a vacuum. I got involved with politicians every day. Eventually, two events informed my joining politics.
Sssemujju Nganda: One of the events was the 2009 conflict between the Buganda government and President Museveni. The Kayunga riots and my earlier involvement with politicians changed my life to say I must join politics and not be neutral.
Ssemujju Nganda: I thought I will depart politics because I have failed to defeat Museveni. Now I have another reason.
Ssemujju Nganda: Each MP wants to be re-elected. We would be stupid to take money that will cause us problems.
Award winning journalist and writer who has worked as a stringer for a couple of acclaimed South Africa based German journalists, covered 3 Ugandan elections, 2008 Kenya election crisis, with interests in business and sports reporting.
