NRM poor youth coordinator Isa Kato: What you need to know about him

For some days they may seem invisible, at least from the general public, and then they resurface. You might have seen them demonstrate at the US Embassy in Kampala in March, not forgetting that regrettable image of one of their colleagues being pulled by police officers, with his head dragged on the ground.
They were involved in several political demonstrations before but after that incident, the group seemed to have gone silent only to resurface earlier this month.

They carried exercise books bearing images of former prime minister and Kinkizi West Member of Parliament, Amama Mbabazi as contender for the country’s presidency come 2016.
These NRM Poor Youth, as the group calls itself, have been a loud voice in political activism ahead of the 2016 national elections, attracting the attention of different media. While their faces are in the news, there is a youthful member who keeps a low profile though –their coordinator.

Meet Isa Kato
The name Isa Kato is not known to many. But Kato, who seems to work from behind the scenes, for his face rarely appears during group’s activities on the streets, is the man who coordinates the group’s activities.
Perhaps the moment Kato’s face appeared prominently in the media was in February when the group members visited the man they wish to become Uganda’s next president, at his home in Kololo. Smiling widely, the youths handed over a “certificate of endorsement” to Mbabazi to run for president.
In his characteristic white shirt and red necktie, never mind that those are not the official colours of the ruling NRM party, Kato handed over the certificate to Mbabazi.
“He is the man we believe can rid this country of corruption and take the country forward. He is going to stand, he has not declared his bid yet because currently, the (NRM) constitution bars him from doing so,” states Kato during an interview.

A politician or an activist?
Kato does not describe himself as a politician but an activist, saying he will not seek political office – not in the near future at least. He, however, says NRM youths want him to be chairman of the party’s national youth league, a decision, he says, he is still mulling over. On the road of political activism treaded on by several people, Kato believes that with his group of youths – who constitute the majority population segment in the country – he can change the status quo.

A picture of Kato shaking hands with president Museveni at one of the President’s official residences appeared in some sections of the media which caused some political observers to suggest Kato and his group is playing political games. In fact, his colleagues such as Adam Luzindana, who was once a vocal pro-Mbabazi youth, have since gone silent. Kato does not deny meeting President Museveni. “I met him,” he confessed, “but he never told me he was going to stand (for president) so I should go to his campaign side (team). We talked about development issues like the youth entrepreneurship fund.”
Kato is quick to deny suggestions he could be into political activism for ulterior motives, possibly money and favours from the powers that be. “Ugandans should get serious,” he stated, “whoever comes out to speak, people say he has been bribed, who then will come out and speak? Our job is to mobilise those youths.”

The Kato people knew
Political activism may be Kato’s preoccupation, but those who knew him before he came into the public eye, could never have pegged him as an activist, let alone a political one. At Makerere University, the place where many people’s political dreams are birthed, Kato was never involved in politics. He was at the university from 2003 to 2006 and graduated with a Bachelors of Tourism degree.
The only office Kato contested for was the chairmanship of Makerere University Tourism Students Association (MUTA). The association was mainly academic-based, organising students’ tours and networking with alumni and sector players.

Colleagues who know Kato well, having studied and worked with him, when contacted for this article, stated they never saw a political activist in Kato. One of them who asked for anonymity so he could talk freely about his former classmate said Kato was a quiet person. “He was not a vocal person. In class, he always sat at the back that is why when out of the blue, he came out to stand for MUTA chairmanship, all of us were surprised. He found his way anyway but I did not see a leader in him, let alone political leader.”
So maybe sitting at the back is Kato’s way of working, for even with his NRM Poor Youth group, he is never seen at the front. But what does he think of himself? “I am not a very aggressive person but I stand firm on what I believe in. I think I took that trait from my father; when he sticks to a point, he ensures it is done to completion.”

Kato’s political views

When asked about what makes him believe Mbabazi can fight corruption when he has been part of the “corrupt regime”, as Kato describes the current government, he says in his soft voice, “He (Mbabazi) was just an employee of government. He had no powers over what was happening.”
Our interview with him takes place at the Kampala Serena Hotel, a venue he suggested. At one of the balconies of the hotel, it becomes clear that this is a usual hangout for Kato. A waitress comes to pick our orders and starts a conversation with Kato –the kind you have with a regular customer. They cracked jokes, with Kato asking where the usual charger for his smartphone was.

Since Kato and his group profess to be “poor youths”, I comment about the fact that a poor youth can afford to hang out at Serena hotel.
“Poor means lacking. I may have Shs10,000 but the situation requires me to have Shs40,000. In that sense, I’m not rich,” he says.
Kato owns a tour and travel company in Kampala, Adventure, Culture and Nature Holidays Limited, among other businesses and drives a Mercedes Benz –something that has led people question why he describes himself as a poor youth.

To this he says, “I may not be poor but I’m fighting for the cause of the poor youths. You do not have to necessarily be poor to fight for the rights of the poor. You may say I am well off but my siblings are not. My brother studied and graduated with a degree in education from Kampala International University. He is jobless. Another is a qualified journalist but has no job. I am fighting for the rights of poor youth.”
Then how about his colleagues – the “unemployed poor youths” – where do they get money for their activities? Most outstanding in the comments people make on the stories about the group’s activities is that they can use the money to start businesses rather than demonstrate on the streets as unemployed youths.

“They could be doing petty jobs like working in garages and earning some little money but that’s not where they should be,” Kato says, adding, “It is unfair for graduates and their parents not to be able to find meaningful employment. Their skills and energies are wasted. That is why we want to change this government, because lots of money that would have been used to improve the lives of youths is misappropriated.”

Family life
His father, Ibrahim Kizza Serwanga is a businessman in Ntenjeru, Kayunga. Kato did not grow up with his father but his mother, Margret Nakalema in Rubaga Kampala. His mother separated from his father when Kato was about three. She later passed on when Kato was nine. Kato talks emotionally about his mother’s death and events that followed. “She was ill for a long time during which period almost everything we had was sold to save her life, and the little that was left after her death was confiscated by the people we owed money. So we were left empty handed.”

Life became unattainable. At 11, circumstances forced Kato to return to Kayunga to stay with his father with 13 of his siblings. He went to Mataba Quranic Primary School and Namagabi Secondary School before joining Makerere University for a Bachelor in Tourism and later a diploma in Cabin crew from the Career In Travel London, UK. Kato 29 is married with two children, a five-year old girl and a two-year old boy.

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