The 317 NRM lawmakers will have to face voters, one way or the other

Last weekend, a man was shot dead at Kiziba Village, Bugaya Sub-county in Buvuma District.
Sadiq Kizito, the village National Resistance Movement party chairperson, was allegedly shot dead by Woman MP Janepher Nantume’s bodyguard on Sunday morning.

MP Nantume, who was addressing a public meeting, was heckled by residents who asked that she leaves. This prompted Kizito to rise up and attempt to grab the megaphone from the lawmaker. This provoked the ire of Nantume’s bodyguard who cocked his gun and fired, shooting Kizito in the neck.
Many residents feel Nantume betrayed them in voting for the lifting of the presidential age limit, an act that they have never forgiven her for.

Some saw heckling the MP as an opportunity to express their frustration and anger at the role she played in amending the Constitution on December 20, 2017.
The presidential age limit was lifted amid violence in Parliament, with several Opposition MPs either beaten or locked up and heavy military deployed outside the House.
The 317 MPs that supported the age limit removal are aware that a significant number of the public was not happy about their actions. More than a year later and some members of the public are yet to forgive their representatives.

With the attrition rate in Parliament being high, MPs have a real cause to be worried. With six out of 10 MPs not making it back to Parliament in 2016, the lifting of the age limit could make the figures go up.
One of the major causes of loss in trust by voters in their MPs is the perception that lawmakers shift from representing their constituents to representing their personal interests.

Aware of what lies ahead of them, many are already tilling the ground and amassing their 2021 war chest, with the hope that money will subdue their voters.
According to some former MPs, running a successful campaign requires hundreds of millions of shillings. Many MPs might borrow money from banks, loan sharks, mortgage their houses and sell land to finance their campaigns.

But in the event that they are not voted back, besides losing a considerable amount of their fortune in campaigns, privileges such as bodyguards will cease to exist. The MPs will have to go back and live among ordinary Ugandans.
The success of their reintegration and survival in society will largely depend on how the public perceives them.
As of now, reconciliation between some Ugandans and the 317 MPs is far from being reached. It might take some time, but soon or later the MPs have to face their voters and make peace.