MPs Mpuuga, Juliet Kakande taunted at Ssegirinya vigil

Nyendo-Mukungwe legislator Mathias Mpuuga (4th right) and Masaka City Woman MP Juliet Kakande (3rd) attend Muhammad Ssegirinya's vigil at Butale Cell in Masaka City on January 11, 2025. PHOTO/SCREENGRAB/AL MAHDI SSENKABIRWA
What you need to know:
- MP Kakande is a strong ally of legislator Mathias Mpuuga, the former NUP party vice president for Buganda region.
- Locals accuse the pair of "betrayal" regarding the Shs500m service award.
A section of mourners attending fallen Kawempe North legislator Muhammad Ssegirinya’s funeral Saturday evening blocked a water bowser truck belonging to Masaka City Woman legislator Juliet Kakande, citing betrayal.
Dozens of angry mourners, mainly those subscribing to the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party where Ssegirinya belonged, argued that they were "doubting the water the legislator had provided to the mourners."

Mourners attend the vigil of deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya at his ancestral home in Butale Village, Masaka Sub-region in the wee hours of January 12, 2024. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Ssegirinya’s body arrived at his ancestral home at Butale Cell, Matanga Ward, Nyendo –Mukungwe Municipality, Masaka City at around 2:30pm in a van of A Plus Funeral Services.
But when Ms Kakande’s water browser truck arrived at the venue at around 7pm, the charged NUP supporters rejected the offer and ordered the driver of the truck away, which he accepted.
“She [Kakande] betrayed us, and we don’t need her water, let the truck go away, ‘’ some NUP supporters were heard yelling at the driver.
Kakande is a strong ally of Mathias Mpuuga, the former NUP Vice President for Buganda Region, who last month became the leader of Democratic Alliance (DA).
Mpuuga broke ranks with NUP leadership, which accuses him of corruption for bagging Shs500m of the infamous service award as the Leader of Opposition in Parliament in May 2022.
Mpuuga has since rejected calls to resign, arguing that he deserved the one-off award and that it was not criminal.
Upon the arrival of Ssegirinya’s body, mourners including area MP Mpuuga started thronging the deceased legislator’s home.

Mourners react overnight- during the vigil of deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya at his ancestral home in Butale Village, Masaka City on January 12, 2024. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Upon arrival, Mpuuga shook hands with some people in the tent including Masaka Mayor Florence Namayanja before he proceeded to the family house where Ssegirinya’s body was.
After talking to Ssegirinya’s mother Justine Ssanyu Nakajjumba, Mpuuga moved to the playground where mourners were due to converge on Sunday ahead of burial.
But he returned to the family house at around 7pm, together with Kakande as they sat in a tent, even as NUP supporters continuously heckled the two legislators until they unceremoniously left the funeral.
Earlier, the parliamentary commissioner told journalists that he was among people assigned by the House to ensure Ssegirinya’s smooth sendoff.
“Saturday and Sunday are days for the family to mourn their loved one and we expect all mourners to honour his final sendoff,” he added. However, the two MPs were yet to publicly respond regarding the heckling.

Mourners sleep in the wee hours of January 12, 2024, during the vigil of deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya at his ancestral home in Butale Village, Masaka City. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI

Locals are seen overnight during the vigil of deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya at his ancestral home in Butale Village, Masaka Sub-region on January 12, 2024. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI

Mourners are seen in the wee hours of January 12, 2024, during the vigil of deceased MP Muhammad Ssegirinya at his ancestral home in Butale Village, Masaka City. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Ssegirinya, who will be buried on Sunday, died on Thursday at Lubaga Hospital in Kampala after a long illness.
Newly appointed Masaka Resident City Commissioner Ahamada Washaki has warned mourners to avoid violence noting that “security is ready to handle those who will defile peace.”
Weshaki told Monitor that they have reports projecting that the burial may turn violent due to the political terrain in the Masaka Sub-region, an opposition stronghold.
“Let’s mourn with respect because our security teams will not tolerate any indiscipline,” he said.
Newly appointed Masaka Resident City Commissioner Ahamada Washaki has warned mourners to avoid violence noting that “security is ready to handle those who will defile peace.”
Weshaki told Monitor that they have reports projecting that the burial may turn violent due to the political terrain in the Masaka Sub-region, an opposition stronghold.
“Let’s mourn with respect because our security teams will not tolerate any indiscipline,” he said.
Before his death, Ssegirinya had been long-term hospitalized in Uganda, Kenya, and the Netherlands following his release from prison, where he had been held with his Makindye West counterpart Allan Ssewanyana over alleged connection to machete attacks in the Greater Masaka Sub-region, which left over 20 people dead. The two MPs denied the charges and the case is still in court.