Tamale Mirundi: Ripping open the motor-mouthed politician

It is amazing how a young John Tamale Mirundi’s desire to become a journalist was tickled. During his Senior Three in 1980, a literature teacher at Rubaga SS told Mirundi’s class to write an imaginary story. He imagined himself as a love letter being written by a lover and sent through the post office.

“In my story, the love letter was collected by my teacher; she put it in her bra, went home, stripped herself naked and began reading the love letter as I was peeping between her legs,” recollects Mirundi. Little did he know that the assignment would throw the whole school into pandemonium after his literature teacher sent his story to the head teacher.

“The headmaster asked if I had understood the assignment,” narrates Mirundi. The school administrators were all undecided as to what they should do to this teenager. However, after days of deliberations, Tamale was forgiven but on one condition.

“I am forgiving you for one thing, that you can make a good journalist,” said the headmaster to Mirundi. This was a turning point of sorts. After this incident, he never looked back; he began off as a part time writer at Munno newspaper. He further supplemented his income by vending newspapers.

His childhood
Mirundi’s mother is not sure of his age but she thinks he was born between 1960 and 1964 in Matale village, Rakai District.
He is the ninth child of his mother. His parents are Molly Mirundi and the late Tamale Mirundi.

When tasked to explain the events that shaped him, Tamale is quick to give credit to his village. “We had cannibals and witchdoctors in our village, these are all things I witnessed firsthand,” he proudly remarks. His was a unique family in a much disciplined village. He recounts a day when nine people were killed for stealing bananas and chicken.

“Our village never tolerated indiscipline, we had no village courts but justice still prevailed.” Mirundi talks about the various men in his village that formed the core of the values he believes in. He talks of men like Petero Nswa who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Nswa was a tailor. One Christmas morning, he woke up expecting to find breakfast on the table only to find out that his wife had left for prayers. Welding a stick in his hand, he headed for the church where he found his wife kneeling infront of a St Joseph statue. He hit it and broke it into pieces. He was thus summarily excommunicated.

“I would go to Nswa’s house when it rained to find out whether his home used to receive rain. Even though he was deserted by the villagers, Nswa got even stronger and more authoritative.”
Mirundi also remembers men like Kasumba who many thought would die after subjecting a Catholic priest to a thorough beating having caught him red-handed with his wife. There was also Rwabuchocho who slapped his mother-in-law. Rwabuchocho gained popularity because he did not suffer for his actions.

“Because of such people, I am able to comment on many things that people fear to comment on.” Mirundi explains things with clarity. Complex issues he breaks down for the peasants. You can’t help but welcome his pithy analogies – concise and full of meaning.
Mirundi says he gets his arrogance from his mother.

“I inherited my mother’s arrogance. She always had a low opinion of many people,” says Mirundi. He adds that unlike women in Matale, his mother was not involved in rumour mongering. “My mother was a bit aloof and that’s me,” Mirundi proudly explains.

Even when he stood for MP, he rejected certain things like going to a witchdoctor or paying Catholic priests to praise him in church. The constituency voters all agreed that he was a wise young man but he seemed so detached. Perhaps, that’s why he lost the elections.

A man without close friends
Mirundi grew up differently because he claims he talked very early in his life. Many people thought his mother had produced a musambwa. He grew up a loner.

“I only befriend someone when our interests meet,” says Mirundi. Like the man for whom he has served as spokesperson for 10 years, Mirundi has no close friends and he takes independent decisions.
“There is nobody who can claim to be a close friend of mine,” he explains. He speaks in a folksy style, so characteristic of the countryside, where he was groomed.

Even though he once lost two children on the same day, this for him was not the saddest day of his life. “The day my father died hit me so hard. I admired him so much,” he says rather sadly. However, like many village bred men, his happiest day was the first time he came to Kampala in 1979.

In 1981, Mirundi impregnated a fellow student. His first son was born in the same year. This first partner of Mirundi was taken to London immediately after she delivered. Her family was very rich and to them, Mirundi was a poor person who had no future. He wishes, the same family that despised him could look where he is today and see how he has fought through all odds and finally made it.

The real Tamale Mirundi
Mirundi’s life is based on hard stuff.

“I have a low opinion of dramactors. That’s why I condemned the banning of the play: State of The Nation: Ku Girikiti.” He wonders why at all there was a fuss over it.

He prides himself on having spoken on behalf of the president for 10 years, a job which has seen him handle very delicate situations. He speaks softly at this point and states that the world does not know how kind and disciplined he is. For the disciplinarian he seems to be, it’s surprising that he has never given his children any whipping of sorts.

“I don’t cane my children; I listen to them and advise them. Our family promotes mutual respect.” He would like to be remembered as a man who fought for ordinary people. He claims that his office at State House receives the biggest number of ordinary people on a normal day. He believes in revolutionary methods. When he speaks about land evictions, one is bound to notice that he wishes nothing more than a death sentence for land-grabbers.

“People think that I am a complicated man but that’s not true,” explains the president’s mouthpiece. He dislikes people who call him with the wrong motives at odd hours and prefers that people be brief when they call.

“I receive many phone calls. The last thing I want to hear at the end of the day is someone asking me on phone whether I remember them.” Empathy to him is core. He prefers to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before passing judgment.

Mirundi says it’s only a few myopic Baganda that judge him harshly.

“Just being a Muganda should not stop me from being a free-thinker,” he argues. He says for any progressive society, there should always be fundamental differences. “Federo is not practical yet the Baganda have been made to believe a lie that Buganda was once under federal governance.”

He says because people think he’s a complicated man, no one ever gets to bribe him. His statements are all married with praises for the president. He’s only answerable to that one man. And though his is a challenging job, he has nothing but praise for it.

“President Museveni is a person who will tell you that you are wrong even in public. The President is flexible but never deviates from the goal.”

Mirundi follows simple wisdom; but it would be a mistake to underestimate his intelligence, knowledge, or resolve. My suspicion is that Mirundi purposely retains his homespun language and explains things in parables to better communicate with the common people.

He has written a number of books, or, rather pamphlets, and these he sells cheaply. On a good day like when I interviewed him, you get to walk away with a number of them for free. Among his books include, The making of Besigye, The battle over Binazi Money and Uganda Soccer.

Growing wings
In 1998, he thought he had suffered enough at Munno and decided to start two newspapers: The Lipoota and The Voice. But he could not cope with the media transformations at that time. He was unable to compete with colour and management ushered in by William Pike at the New Vision.

When he looks back, he regrets having trained to be a journalist. For the Makerere University mass communication graduate, journalism takes time to bring results.

“Journalism has not attracted capital investment. It remains risky and no serious businessman can invest in journalism,” he explains. Mirundi cuts no slack for myopic thinkers, reflectors of other men’s thoughts. He has few kind words for academicians except for his former lecturers.

He gives credit to his political science lecturer at Makerere University, Dr [Aaron] Mukwaya who he said opened up his mind to see things which others do not see.

Future plans
Tamale plans to join mainstream journalism once again. He has already purchased a printing press which he uses to print most of his books. Besides beginning a newspaper, he will also set up a political school. Irrespective of age, political or academic background, his school will be open to everyone. He also has his investment in taxis, but he says this is not the reason he fought on the side of taxi operators against KCCA.

“The taxi industry is big and wide and until one considers this, then trying to evict taxi operators from the city is a mirage,” says Mirundi.

“Ordinary people in the informal sector are being incited because we want a clean city. No one should tamper with the ordinary person,” Mirundi warns.

Asked whether he will contest once again, his face lightens up and he brags of how popular he is in his constituency.
He tells people what they eventually will see. When he is serious, he lets out the words “Nyabo Yosephina”, and when extremely happy, he smokes and dances.

Things like the president winning elections, his predictions coming to pass are what make him euphoric. When Alintuma Nsambu lost by 46 per cent in a by-election last year, Mirundi danced because he says, “The elections had degenerated into Mengo versus Nsambu showing how unpopular the Kabaka was becoming”.

He is not easily swayed. Though he is a free-thinker, he banks on his ideological rigidity to turn debates in his favour.

Mirundi loves debates that are not marred with intimidation unlike the Mengo way that is restrictive. He has ordinary people at heart.

Although he openly talks about his two wives, Mirundi wishes to keep their names secret. He explains that one of them is approaching 30 years and the other is making 40. All in all, he is a sensitive and empathetic person. Vivacious is his face as he speaks out his heart. Mirundi can be described as a “free spirit”.

He is plainspoken, honest, optimistic and funny. His humour grabs you off the hook. Even the suspicion with which you approach him at first, vanishes into thin air once you listen to him.

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