Is Ssemujju losing his loyal group of voters?

When Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda was in 2021 elected for a third time to Parliament, he was not in doubt about what got him past the finish line.

“I have a very urban constituency that follows political shows on TVs and that helped me in one way or another,” the Kiira Municipality lawmaker told this writer.

One of the TV appearances that gave Mr Ssemujju traction was when he squared off with then Security Minister Elly Tumwine, on the state broadcaster two months before Ugandans went to the polls in 2021. The country’s security apparatus had killed scores of people after the arrest of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu—the National Unity Platform (NUP) party flag bearer—saw all hell break loose.

“The General blames everybody except himself. If you shot people who were burning tyres, that in itself would be extrajudicial killing. You shot the one who was hammering a policewoman. The list of people you killed are bystanders,” Mr Ssemujju said, adding, “ I watched one of the TVs this evening about a woman who was seated in a Coaster [omnibus] and she was shot there. The bullet is still stuck in her spinal cord, languishing in [the] hospital. These are the majority of the people you shot.” 

Friends-turned-foes
It is this no-holds-barred approach that has over the years endeared Mr Ssemujju to the legions of his admirers. Most of the aforesaid admirers populate online spaces, including X (formerly Twitter) where a group of social activists christened exhibitors have been running exhibitions that hold leaders accountable. 

When Mr Ssemujju found himself caught in the crosshairs after the latest exhibition spotlighted alleged abuses of power in Parliament, his erstwhile admirers turned the proverbial gun on him.   

Mr Ssemujju stands accused of being one of the lawmakers who are paid what look like vulgar per diem rates on foreign trips. The trips, which include visiting Mecca in Saudi Arabia, have been described by exhibitors as unnecessary. The Kiira Municipality lawmaker also attended two meetings in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and in Algeria (Algiers), remarkably, on the same day (May 3, 2023) and same time on.   

In an attempt to clear his name  Ssemujju gave a detailed statement in which he showed he was in  Dubai from January 19 to 29, 2023; and in Algiers from February 1 to 8, 2023. He said this was to attend meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and African Championship.  

Mr Ssemujju says, since the House did not have money to pay him during the respective periods, the payments for both trips were made on May 3, 2023. This was when money became available.

Mecca trip
The lawmaker also had an explanation for those who weren’t happy with his visit to Mecca at the expense of the taxpayer. He said Parliament has a Muslim Parliamentary Caucus that is a lobby group. Under former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, they managed to secure a small prayer room (mosque). Ms Kadaga also, per Mr Ssemujju, agreed to sponsor an annual Ramadan Iftar at the House. 

“Our Christian friends are sponsored to go to Rome to meet the Pope every year. Sponsoring only Christians to visit the headquarters of their faith is discriminatory. We formally complained and that is how the trip to Mecca came to be. If people have issues with Mecca, I think us Muslims can abandon it and let the Christians continue to visit Rome,” he reasoned.

Regardless, Mr Ssemujju’s friends-turned-foes insist that defending the impugned payments goes against the grain. They cite his track record headlined by advocating for frugal spending of public resources.  

Last year,  Ssemujju authored a dossier in which he accused President Museveni of lavish expenditure tailored to tighten his grip on power. Mr Ssemujju went to great lengths to show that Mr Museveni could perhaps be the world’s most advised leader, boasting an entourage of 82 presidential advisors.  

Ostentatiousness
President Museveni, per Mr Ssemujju’s dossier, has a staff roster that includes 27 senior presidential assistants, 40 private secretaries, and a domestic staff of 996 at his residence alone. The latter comprises 59 waitresses, 14 room attendants, 80 gardeners, 129 drivers, 50 cleaners, 35 cooks, and 12 chefs, inter-alia. 

With Museveni’s vast payroll annually costing the taxpayer approximately  Shs50 billion, Mr Ssemujju thought it wise to juxtapose the eyewatering figure with Uganda’s current financial crisis. After elaborating laying out Uganda’s disturbing ledger, Mr Ssemujju threatened to go to court over State House’s ostentatious expenditure.   

“There is a classified expenditure of [Shs]120 billion for State House—a residency of the president. There is another classified under the president’s office. It’s only the Speaker of Parliament and Patrick Isiagi [the Chairman of the House Budget Committee] that look at the expenditure. I have never looked at it,” Mr Ssemujju said, adding, “People need to put a human face on taxes. These are people who operate shops in Kikuubo and other places in Kampala, including my constituency. You can’t pick money from everybody and you begin using it that way. The people who give you money—the Shs17 trillion last year, the Shs19 trillion next year—you owe them an explanation of what their money has done to improve their lives.”

Tables turned 
Whilst exhibitors such as Ms Agather Atuhaire, a lawyer-cum-journalist; Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, a Makerere University philosophy lecturer; and Godwin Toko are happy with Ssemujju’s scrutiny of the presidency, they aren’t happy with his muteness when it comes to the largesse of House Speaker Anita Among.

The online activists have made a case against Speaker Among producing documents that show a per diem rate that was allegedly kicked up to $4,000 from $900 for trips that they say fly in the face of wisdom. They have also drawn attention to the House Speaker’s corporate social responsibility initiatives that most play out in Ms Among’s Bukedea District backdrop.

Asked why Mr Ssemujju has not called Speaker Among to order as he does President Museveni, the Kiira Municipality lawmaker said: “All the challenges in Uganda stem from Museveni. When Members of Parliament in Kenya sought to increase their retirement package, President Uhuru Kenyatta refused to assent to the law. Perhaps it’s necessary to remind the public that budget matters are legal affairs.” 

He further told The Observer newspaper thus: “Each year, we approve a budget presented in the form of a bill. The reason I focus on Museveni is that without addressing him, the remuneration for MPs could decrease. However, as long as Museveni collaborates with MPs and the Speaker, funds for such purposes will remain available.”  

Duplicity?
Mr Ssemujju’s plea for activists to focus on Museveni hasn’t gone down well with the activists.  “They seem to suggest that two wrongs make a right—because the President is extravagant, it is okay for the Speaker too. So, if we haven’t managed to stop or remove Mr Museveni, then we shouldn’t put the Speaker to account?”  Ssentongo rhetorically asked.

He added: “ But the very budget of the President is passed by the same Parliament whose back is now being scratched with Shs100m! They locked the press out of discussions of Parliament’s budget, effectively cutting off the public that they purport to speak for. If the budgets they are referring to now are justifiable, why do they pass them in hiding? Why do they treat them as if they are classified? Listening to the legislators justifying these excesses through reference to comparable wrongs (bad cultures) and legality is quite disappointing! Should we then all adopt that culture?”  

Mr Ssemujju doesn’t agree with the narrative that he treats the President differently from the House Speaker.

“I made a personal decision upon entering Parliament—to prioritise verbal discourse over disruptive actions, such as jumping on tables, as I had done in the past. There seems to be a contradiction among those demanding that I speak out more,” he said, adding, “On the one hand, they commend my abilities as an MP, but on the other hand, they criticise me for not addressing certain issues. There are tactical considerations at play, and I may not always explain every decision made in Parliament due to the technical nature of some issues.”

The Kiira Municipality lawmaker proceeded to note: “For instance, challenging President Museveni using parliamentary procedures and then criticising Parliament itself poses a dilemma. Moreover, parliamentary rules dictate that one can only speak when authorised by the Speaker. We have witnessed where Honourable Francis Zaake’s actions led him. If others expect me to follow suit, I could resort to disruptive behaviour and risk expulsion from Parliament, which would abruptly end the narrative.” 

What to do with Mpuuga
Even when activists were asking for Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the Mukungwe-Nyendo lawmaker, to be punished for allocating himself Shs500 million as a “service award” for his tenure as  the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Ssemujju insisted the focus should be on  Museveni.   

“My ideology as Ssemujju is removing Museveni. Once Museveni is removed the rest we will sort out. Even if you fight Mpuuga and Museveni remains in the State House these problems will remain,” he said.  

Mr Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Win, begs to differ. On Thursday, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party principal wielded the axe. A terse statement disclosed thus: “The President of the National Unity Platform has suspended Hon Mathias Mpuuga from the position of deputy president (Central Region) for engaging in actions of corruption and abuse of office — which actions he has failed to give any satisfactory explanation for.”    

As NUP prepares to deal with the fallout from that extraordinary decision, Mr Ssemujju could also find himself with lots of explaining to do in his constituency.       
 
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