The glamour, fashion at National Budget reading

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija stole yesterday’s show at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala as he made his way to unpack the Shs48.1 trillion Budget. 

The spotlight turned on Mr Kasaija immediately after he arrived at the grounds at about 1.30pm.  
Camera men and women followed his every step, flashing their bright lights and capturing every moment.  

Clad in a grey suit complemented with a yellow tie, the minister carried the trademark “brown budget brief case” and ostentatiously walked to his seat to wait for the official programme to commence. 
From time to time, his fellow ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), and other dignitaries kept glancing at the briefcase, probably wondering what contents were inside it. 

They were only able to find out its contents at about 2.30pm after Mr Kasaija carefully walked onto the podium to present the budget speech. He held the briefcase with a lot of dignity and tenderness, as if his own life depended on it.

As he finally pulled out the documents inside it, some male guests made whistling sounds, which made the others burst into fits of laughter. 

The whistling is in attribution to Mr Kasaija’s previous remarks where he spoke about the economy and assured Ugandans that it was rising, “flying” rather than declining. The minister made the famous gesture by whistling and demonstrating an upward movement of his right arm. The video went viral.

So, as Kasaija went about his speech, the invited guests listened very attentively in the cool and relaxed ambiance.  

In 2020 and 2021, the budget reading was done ‘scientifically’ due to the Covid-19 pandemic that had caused a number of deaths and infections in the country and after the economy reopened this year, the activity was shifted to Kololo Independence Grounds, in a more spacious environment, with a number of guests re-invited back to attend the ceremony. 

The outfits of the day

While the men looked incredibly dapper in their suits, the women, on the other hand, opted for different stylish outfits including dresses accompanied with modest designed heels. And, the perfumes they wore, goodness! The air in Kololo smelled nice, fresh and expensive.

“Where do these women buy their perfumes from?” one journalist was heard jokingly asking a colleague. 

“London, Paris, Milan, not “Owino market,” another journalist responded in amusement. 
Ms Lillian Aber, the Kitgum District woman Member of Parliament (MP), an ardent National Resistance Movement (NRM) member, raised some eyebrows after showing up in a red suit. Yellow is the official NRM party colour. 

Some of her colleagues from Parliament kept glancing at her, with some wondering whether she had crossed over to the National Unity Platform (NUP), whose party colour is red, she seemed not to care about their stares. 

President Museveni, on the other hand, opted for simplicity. A crisp white long sleeved shirt [accompanied with black trousers]. 

The President has lately been opting for locally made clothes after previously stating that he was uncomfortable wearing and marketing foreign-made clothes including suits. 

A few Opposition members attended the budget reading including Opposition Chief Whip, Mr John Baptist Nambeshe. 

Last week, the majority of them shunned the State-of-the-Nation address, which was held at the same venue. 

The boycott, according to the members, was a way of expressing displeasure with the government over failure of addressing and offering tangible practical solutions to the current economic crisis. 

It was also a way of conveying discontentment over the continued detention of their colleagues Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) and Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West), who are currently battling several charges including attempted murder as well as aiding and abetting terrorism.

Some of the Opposition MPs told Monitor yesterday that they preferred to stay away from the budget for the same reasons. 

The budget speech came to a close at about 4.40pm, with the President and the First Lady, Ms Janet Kataha Museveni departing Kololo Independence grounds first before eventually other guests followed.