How NRM can reap from Bayoole’s new-found fame

On Saturday, Mr Stanley Bayoole officially became the grandfather of Busoga after ushering his daughter into Christ’s Cathedral in Jinja North City Division to tie the knot with Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope IV.

Until September 7, Mr Bayoole was widely known as “the Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner (RDC) who defected from the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in 2015 to join the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM)”.

In his home district of Mayuge, the name reverberates among locals as a politician who is interested in the development and education of the Girl Child.

Mr James Mawerere, a boda boda rider in Mayuge Town Council, says Mr Bayoole loathes seeing a girl not in school. “It bothers him a lot,” he said in a brief interview.

Mr Mawerere recalls a day when a colleague was walking with a girl in Mayuge Town Council, and metres away was Mr Bayoole.

“My friend decided to abandon the girl on the streets because he had been told that Mr Bayoole arrests whoever he finds with a school-going girl,” he added.

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Mr Medie Mbentyo, the Luuka District FDC chairperson, says now that he is the Kyabazinga’s father-in-law and grandfather of Busoga, he has got a breakthrough in his political career.

“Mr Bayoole has a good scope of public relations, besides being a good mobiliser himself; so, the NRM party he is serving now stands a chance of increasing its support once he is allowed to mobilise,” Mr Mbentyo said.

Mr Mbentyo, who doubles as the Prime Minister of Busoga’s Abaise Tooli clan, says given Mr Bayoole’s high mobilisation skills, the position of the grandfather of Busoga will work in the NRM’s favour if he continues to be in active political mobilisation.

According to Mr Mbentyo, Mr Bayoole is now “the number opinion leader whose advice will be highly welcomed by many”, although he is seen as a cultural leader by virtue of his position as the grandfather of Busoga who may not be expected to be partisan.

Bayoole thrust himself into the murky political limelight when he became the LC3 Chairperson of Mayuge Town Council on the FDC card but later crossed to NRM, serving as Busoga Regional NRM election officer, before being named RDC.

Mr Mbentyo further explains that Mr Bayoole now has a chance to get President Museveni’s attention, adding that this is the time for the Busoga sub-region to develop with Mr Bayoole as the Number One respected person who is close to the NRM government.

The NRM flag bearer in the 2021 General Elections, Mr Yoweri Museveni, only won in three of the 12 districts that make up the Busoga Sub-region, leaving National Unity Platform candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) taking eight districts and Jinja City.

Mr Mbentyo says the intermarriage between the Kyabazinga family and Mr Bayoole is expected to work in the NRM’s favour if no restrictions of mixing politics with culture are ignored.

Mr Yona Musala, a resident of Kigalama-Bulafa Village in Namutumba Sub-county, Namutumba District, and belongs to Baise-Mugosa clan to which Inhebantu belongs, says being a brother-in-law to the Kyabazinga has made the clan “proud and known”.

“I am proud that my clan which has been unknown to some people will now be known to almost everyone in Busoga because we are the in-law clan to the Kyabazinga,” he added.

Mr Charles Mwanja, the former Kasese District Prisons Commander (DPC), who also belongs to the Baise-Mugosa clan, says he is happy that development programmes that will be going on in Busoga Kingdom will benefit the Baise-Mugosa in-law clan members.

He says: “Being an in-law to the Kyabazinga means connections, development and pride. Once you are an in-law to Kyabazinga, it means you can access him.”

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