John Katumba: Mysterious 24-year-old eying top office

On November 2, Mr John Katumba, one of the presidential candidates, got a flat tyre on his borrowed van while on his way to the nomination grounds at Kyambogo University in Kampala last Monday.

A lot of other things followed, including him being rejected for lack of evidence of payment of the Shs20m nomination fees. He was, however,  declared a presidential candidate by the Electoral Commission the following day after he cleared the fees.

At the venue of the interview with this newspaper at a restaurant in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb, on Thursday, I encounter a double cabin pick-up truck surrounded by mean-looking security officers outside. I greet them and one of them asks: “Are you the [Daily] Monitor journalist who called?” I answer in the affirmative.

“Alright, the candidate is waiting for you inside,” he says as he ushers me in. 

The officer leads me into the restaurant lobby where I am asked to wait at a table with two aides for nearly half an hour as the presidential aspirant finishes a conversation with another person.

When he finally attends to me, he immediately starts to respond to my questions. However, he halts the interview after three minutes and asks for my identity card and why I need the story before we resume.

Saving for presidential bid 

There has been a lot of public debate on how the 24-year-old unemployed youth managed to traverse the entire country in search of signatures and managed to raise the Shs20m nomination fees.

Mr Katumba explains that he is no stranger to “piggy banks” and that he acquired one while in Senior One at Central View High School in Mukono District almost nine years ago.

“I would save coins and later convert them to notes whenever they accumulated in the piggy bank,” he says.

He adds that he partly paid for his education, especially paying for school requirements. He became fully responsible for his studies at A-Level and university after he was allegedly abandoned by his guardian.

Mr Katumba says he raised most of his savings from the many hustles (odd jobs) he has been engaged in. 

He says he once worked at Pan World Car Wash on Dewinton Street in Kampala, where he was paid Shs1,000 per car washed while he was an O-Level student.

“I burnt charcoal, laid bricks, and washed cars to save for my dream of becoming the president of this country,” he says.

However, Mr Katumba doesnot reveal how much he saved in his piggybank . 

Nomination fees saga

Following his nomination, social media was awash with posts and comments questioning his source of the Shs20m nomination fees.

In addition to the nomination fees, Mr Katumba had to traverse the country to collect 100 signatures of registered voters from at least 98 districts out of the 146 to back his nomination. 

Mr Katumba explains that his savings only helped him cater for fuel to move around Uganda in quest for the signatures.

He says he made many friends while collecting the signatures, who started sending him money to raise the nomination fees.

“Some people would send around Shs1,000 via mobile money to contribute to my candidature. I have people who gave me more money ,though they do not want to be mentioned. They contributed because they believe in my candidature,” Mr Katumba explains.

The mysterious Katumba

Mr Katumba is reserved, private and declines to offer details in most of his answers, often refusing to back up his claims with a timeline, especially years.

Even his place of residence is a mystery and all that is known is that he transacts his business in Ntinda.

“I have where I stay, though I neither rent nor own a house. I am a youth and if you need me, you can call me and we meet at this place,” he explains.

The presidential candidate also seems new to the public. 

Not only was his Tax Identification Number (TIN) processed a day after his nomination bid was rejected, but he is also new on most social media platforms.

“I am new to most things because I do not believe in them. I always opted for a piggy bank instead of a bank account because the piggy bank does not charge bank fees. I am new on social media because I am not interested in Western-owned platforms and I am planning to create my own,” he said.

I am not a political project

There have been claims that Mr Katumba is a ‘project’ of the ruling NRM party machinery.

Following his nomination, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze took to social media  and said: “After all, those who want you (Katumba) in the race think that you have ability to confuse Baganda youth.” 

 Mr Katumba said he feels hurt when some people assume he is a political project planted by particular individuals.  He says he has support from many Ugandans and his candidature is meant for Ugandans.

“Most people in the race are offering politics instead of leadership. The Opposition is infested by moles and self-seekers, who have no plans to work for the people,” Mr Katumba claims.

Making Uganda a “global workshop”

Mr Katumba speaks enthusiastically about reversing the talk of unemployment in Uganda.

“My plan is to industrialise Uganda, a move that will see Uganda create surplus jobs for its people,” Mr Katumba says without offering details on how he will do that. 

He, however, adds that he is one of the millions of unemployed Ugandans whom the country is struggling to absorb into productive life.

Who is Katumba

Although Mr Katumba says he is 24-years-old, when asked which year he was born, he asks me not to go into many details. He adds that he belongs to the Kkonde family of Naalya-Kiwatule in Kampala, but he declines to reveal who the Kkondes are.

“I prefer saying I belong to the Kkonde family and I like it to be private just like that,” he explains.

Mr Katumba, who is not married, says he is a fresh graduate of Makerere University Business School, where he did a course in Transport and Logistics Management and graduated in January.

He explains that he studied his primary education at Zion Hill Standard Academy in Buikwe District and later joined Central View High School in Mukono, where he finished both his O and A-Levels.

“Both my parents died and I do not know much about them. All I know is that my guardian said they passed away when I was two years old,” he says.

What he does not make clear, however, is at what point he initially intended to run for president. 

Until the amendment of the Constitution in 2017, the age limit for presidential candidates was capped between 35 and 75 years. 

If it stayed that way, Mr Katumba would have had to wait for three more electoral cycles before qualifying to run for president.