Nyangweso: Second time lucky pioneer Samia-Bugwe Central MP

Last year, Cabinet approved the creation of 46 new counties, including Samia-Bugwe Central in Busia District, a seat which was won by Mr Dennis Nyangweso (NRM), 43, making him the pioneer legislator in the 11th Parliament.

Mr Nyangweso’s first attempt at politics was in 2016 when he stood for the Samia-Bugwe South MP seat which he expected to win, “but a lot of things changed towards elections”.

“First were amendments in Parliament allowing sitting MPs to stand on either party or independent tickets, and also the entry into the race of veteran politician Mr Gabriel Opio, whom I expected to back me because of my backing him previously,” he says.
“As a result, we both ended up losing to then incumbent Julius Maganda Wandera and I retreated to Public Service, joining the Equal Opportunities Commission, but continued with my mobilisation.”

Campaigns
Mr Nyangweso described the campaigns as “very tough” given their ‘scientific’ nature. “Radios were very expensive yet they couldn’t reach all my voters. So, I resorted to door-to-door campaigns, which were more effective although very cumbersome.
“The door-to-door strategy endeared me to the voters and effectively delivered us victory and I am thankful to the team that sacrificed to walk the entire constituency,” he adds.

Why he won
Mr Nyangweso credits his victory to the message he had for the people of Samia-Bugwe Central. He says during the campaigns, the constituency was split into two, namely South and Central, and the incumbent, who was hard to beat, opted for the South.

“This lessened the burden and we worked hard to take the primaries, which unfortunately were heavily rigged and my plea to the NRM party about the rigging fell on deaf ears. They tossed out my petition on grounds that the margin of 5,517 votes was rather big.
“My ‘loss’ in the primaries forced us to work harder and the demographic of our campaigns also gave us an upper hand. All the candidates who lost in the primaries accepted to back me because I proved a better alternative than the flagbearer.

“The former minister of State for Higher Education, Mr Simon Mayende, played a big part in wooing all his supporters to back me, together with Mr James Osinya, who had also lost in the primaries. We didn’t have as much money as our opponents, but we were superior in message and strategy,” Mr Nyangweso says.
On January 14, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Mr Nyangweso winner after polling 13,919 votes against NRM’s Mr Richard Wanyama’s 11,312 votes.

Challenges ahead
The main challenge, Mr Nyangweso says, is how to reduce poverty, which he has described as his daily preoccupation.
“My people do not produce anything for the market. Because of low production, incomes are very low and we cannot even talk of industrialisation at this point.
“I have to rally people to run away from this current poverty situation in order to partake of government programmes like water extension, rural electrification and so on,” he says with certainty.
Mr Nyangweso says he plans to rally his contacts within the government to lobby for improvement of services to Samia-Bugwe Central and Busia District.

“We need to see improved performance in schools, better roads, improved health services but above all improved incomes at household level. I promised people Omutindo, which means high standard of living, health and education among others.
“My family was very supportive from the start of my political journey; my father provided all the finances required for the initial start plus all the networks to promote me in the entire constituency.

“After losing the primaries, which was my second attempt, my parents, sisters and brothers were too dejected to even look at me. I, however, composed myself and addressed them, assuring them that I have not accepted the outcome of the election and that I will contest as an independent, much to their relief.

“Imagine on voting day, none of my siblings voted for me but they opted to go and protect the vote from areas we suspected some rigging to take place,” Mr Nyangweso explains.
Mr Nyangweso was born on September 28, 1978, to Mr Juma Augustine and Cissy Juma from Busikho East Village, Busikho Parish, Masafu Sub-county, Busia District.

The father of four and the second born in “a family of very many children” attended Busikho Primary School in Busia District before proceeding to Jinja College for O-Level, then onto Greenville High School where he topped the class to join Makerere University for a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences.

After his graduation in 2003, Mr Nyangweso got a job with the Ministry of Public Service as Personnel Officer/Human Resource Officer and was deployed to the police headquarters where he worked up to 2009, got promoted and was transferred to the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development.

In 2013, he was transferred to the Health Service Commission where he worked until 2015 and resigned to join elective politics.
He also worked with Watoto Church as Human Resource Administrator and also at Equal Opportunities Commission as head of Human Resource Management up to February 2020 from where he left to contest for the Samia-Bugwe Central seat.

Early politics
While at Jinja College, Mr Nyangweso was a student leader in the Students’ Association and General Secretary of Samia Students Association of Jinja College (SSAJICO). At university, he campaigned and was elected chairman of Busia District Students Association (BUDISA), a body which brings together all Samia students at the university and all those hailing from Busia District.

Growing up
While growing up, he used to see his father participate in politics and vividly remembers the 1993/1994 Constituent Assembly (CA) campaigns, during which his father was a campaign agent of Chango Macho W’Obanda, as well as in 1996 parliamentary campaigns.
“I liked the campaign methods of Chango Macho and this endeared me to him although I was not yet a voter. I instantly got interested in politics and started being vocal in student politics in Jinja College, something which led to my expulsion while preparing to sit for my O-Level examinations,” he recollects.

Mr Nyangweso was also active in Samia Bugwe politics during the 2001, 2006, 2011 campaigns as a young man.
“In 2001 when I was serving as chairman of Busia Students at Makerere University, Mr Amama Mbabazi, then Security minister recruited me into President Museveni’s campaigns and deployed me to Busia along with other youth leaders.
“In 2006, I closely worked with the late Noble Mayombo for Busia campaigns together with Eric Masiga, the current chairman NRM Busia and one Mr James Magero,” he says.

Education
Mr Nyangweso holds Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (Hons) from Makerere University, Master of Arts in Public Administration and Management (Human Resource Option), also from Makerere University, Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Uganda Management Institute (UMI), International Certificate in Manpower Planning from the Institute of Applied Manpower Research, New Delhi, India, Certificate in Public Administration, Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, India and Certificate in Computer Application, Techno Brain Computer School and is a member of Uganda Public Service Human Resource Managers’ Network (UPS-HRMnet).

Mr Nyangweso has also undertaken some translations, including being part of the team that translated the Bible into Lusamia language, been a translator at Straight Talk Foundation from English to Lusamia language and also translated Radio Adverts of Association of Micro-finance Institutions in Uganda, (AMFIU) into Lusamia language.