Muhammad Ssegirinya always had the country’s best interests at heart, especially those of Kyebando dwellers—a place he held so close to his heart so much so that he was christened Eddoboozi lya Kyebando or Voice of Kyebando during the early days of his political activism.
He died on Thursday, aged 36.
Ssegirinya once said he never intended to get directly involved in politics but was compelled to do so.
His first taste of success in elective politics came in 2016 when he was voted as the LC5 councillor for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) representing Kawempe North.
It wasn’t long after he rose through the ranks that later he defeated nine other contestants to become the area Member of Parliament.
Made by humour
Undoubtedly a humourist, Ssegirinya always thrived on the power of language and theatrics to deliver his political message.
He intentionally dramatised his statements and actions to devastating effect.
In this file photo, deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya gestures during a demonstration in Kampala.
Take on July 28, 2015 when he showed up at Parliamentary Avenue with an old television set to protest against the TV digital migration.
He insisted that removal of analogue signals would deny Ugandans—more so those in Kyebando—a right to watch TV.
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In a twist of events, Ssegirinya, who had initially vowed to face-off with the anti-riot police, had to comically sprint to his office at the time at KCCA.
He would continue to engage the police in running battles on December 14, 2017 when he showed up at Parliament with red ribbons in protest against the removal of the presidential age limit from the Constitution.
In spite of the heavy police deployment, Ssegirinya, then a KCCA councillor, staged a red ribbon protest at the main entrance to the House.
Ssegirinya further took his antics to social media where he would share unsolicited political information in live broadcasts on Facebook and later on TikTok.
Coining his broadcasts, Ssegirinya Updates won him the name Mr Updates. His broadcast would always be characterised with humour and some would trend as social media memes.
The most renowned were his exaggerated updates about his party leader Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, when he was detained at Nalufenya in Jinja, sparking the November 18, 2020 riots that left more than 50 people dead.
People protest on Mengo Hill Road in Kampala after the arrest of National Unity Platform presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, on November 18, 2020. Photo/File
Ssegirinya painted a bizarre picture of a badly injured Bobi Wine on the verge of death. It was hyperbole.
Championing generosity
Ssegirinya often reminded whoever cared to listen that he came from a humble background. And indeed he did. He didn’t wish what he went through on his constituents.
Many benefited from his unconditional generosity, not least the Segibox—a saving scheme that he introduced in his constituency.
His plan was to provide a starter package to the needy. The Segibox included food and at least Shs100,000 as start-up for his piggybank initiative.
The fallen lawmaker further took a step to provide free healthcare for the needy by setting up a health facility at Kyebando. It would soon become a refugee for the needy, women and children.
In an interview on NTV-Uganda, Ssegirinya said he banked on the goodwill of his close friends in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Canada.
Joseph Kaboggoza helped him secure hospital equipment from Canada that included five orthopaedic beds, three labour beds, a moving toilet for the ill, heart machines, sterilisers, five wheelchairs and a dental bed. The facility had three wards with 15 beds.
Entry to politics
Ssegirinya’s art of humorous politicking began in 2006 when he was a Senior Three student at Pimbas Secondary School in Kyebando, Kawempe Division.
Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana (L) and his Kawempe North counterpart Muhammad Ssegirinya (C) talk to the deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (R) shortly after their arrival at parliament on April 4, 2023, following their release. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA
In an interview, he shared that he would show up at the school with recordings of radio soundbites to disapprove students who supported the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the ruling party.
He would then call on live talk shows, making a name through theatricals that he used to win political arguments.
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Ssegirinya later gained notoriety for his comic appearances on television and in newspapers and online clips, often seen battling security agents or in narrow escapes as he sprinted away.
Remember the old TV incident at Parliament? It endeared him to many, especially the ordinary folk, paving his quick way to active politics.
Ssegirinya subscribed to Opposition politics and was a member of the Social Development Party (SDP) led by former Makindye East MP Michael Mabikke, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and later the National Unity Platform (NUP), a political wind that defied logic, upended established politicians and installed novices.
Ssegirinya was one of the beneficiaries as he won the party ticket first and then the Kawempe North MP seat almost seamlessly.
Against all odds
Appearing on NTV-Uganda’s Tuwaye talk show in 2016, Ssegirinya shared a stunning story about his education background.
He revealed that he studied at Kaddugala Primary School in the 1990s where he nearly missed writing his Primary Leaving Examination papers.
This was because the school had asked candidates to show up in shoes. Ssegirinya did not own a pair of shoes that would fit.
He said he was bullied by fellow pupils and nearly missed his last papers.
After his exams, Ssegirinya’s father didn’t have money and suggested the boy become a mechanic.
Ssegirinya joined Kaduggala Secondary School in Masaka regardless. He walked over three kilometres to the school every day and sold sugarcane during break time to raise school fees.
Ssegirinya shared that he was later helped by a businessman to get a bursary at Pimbas Secondary School in Kyebando, in Kampala, where he often claimed to have finished O and A-Level.
He later joined Datamine Technical Business School for a diploma in journalism.
However, upon being elected as a lawmaker, Pimbas denied he ever attended the school.
Official documents Ssegirinya used to run for the parliamentary seat show he held a certificate in Urban Food Experience from the Netherlands.
When pressure mounted over accusations that he lacked the papers, which could cost him his parliamentary title, Ssegirinya staged a demonstration at Mini-Price in Downtown Kampala, calling for the release of NUP party members.
He was arrested, charged and remanded to Kitalya Prison, where he was reported sick. On being released he was rushed to Nairobi Hospital. But he returned to be sworn in as MP in March 2021.
Short-lived joy
Like his academic profile, Ssegirinya’s political career and latter days were a mystery.
Of his nearly four years as a legislator, he was more a prisoner and patient. His woes began when he was remanded to Kitalya Prison in September 2021, about six months after taking his parliamentary vows.
In this photo taken on March 6, 2023, Kawempe North MP Muhammad Ssegirinya displays parts of his body before journalists as he appeared at International Crimes Division Court in Kololo. He said he got skin infections while in prison. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West MP, NUP) were charged with involvement in the infamous bijambiya attacks that saw many die at the hands of machete-wielding assailants in Masaka.
They were released from jail on February 2023 after court granted them bail.
He was pronounced dead on Thursday morning at Lubaga Hospital with his mother at his bedside.
Ssegirinya had been seriously ill, with several complications that first swelled his body before slimming him so that one could mistake him for a boy.
He never recovered his old energy despite several interventions, and seeking specialised treatment abroad.
Always wearing a smile, Ssegirinya often celebrated being a family man, who never mentioned his spouse(s) or the number of his children.
