We should not rush to replace Ssegirinya

NUP supporters together with A-Plus Funeral Management staff bear the body of Kawempe North MP Mohammad Ssegirinya, to his grave at Kadugala, Masaka District on January 12, 2025. PHOTO/ MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- The issue: The byelection.
- Our view: Yes, the procedure is a procedure, but once in a while we can choose to love this country and thus choose reasoning over some procedure of a House whose rules have been raped more than once before.
Last week, we lost MP Muhammad Ssegirinya. That was after his long struggle, in and out of hospitals for a bigger part of his term. See, when news of Ssegirinya’s passing started trickling through, even when it was not yet confirmed, it was hard not to discuss his replacement.
The man with or without saying a thing on the floor of Parliament was one of the most popular parliamentarians; his face was regular on the news, but not that news, the offbeat segments and his voice, oh, that voice we met before we saw the man.
So did we discuss possible succession? Yes we did.
On Thursday, our website published a story that at least nine people were interested in Ssegirinya’s vacant office. At the time, communication about his seat being declared vacant by the Clerk to Parliament had not yet come through.
Then it later came through, a by-election will be organised seeking Ssegirinya’s replacement.
However, call this an unpopular opinion, we shouldn’t rush to get a Ssegirinya replacement. Yes, the procedure is a procedure, but once in a while we can choose to love this country and thus choose reasoning over some procedure of a house whose rules have been raped more than once before.
Ssegirinya was voted into Parliament at the beginning of 2021, then he was arrested shortly, at the beginning of what could have been his first term.
He spent more than 500 days in custody, not on the floor of Parliament and when he was eventually released, he spent the rest of his term in and out of hospital.
He had done a number of developments in his short term such as setting up a hospital, an ambulance and the famous Segi Box initiative. Some of his brilliant creations had continued moving forward even when the man was in jail or bedridden and others had since stalled.
With the general election looming, it is unfair to the taxpayer to organised an election to be won by someone who is likely to spend their time in Parliament campaigning.
Look at it this way, Uganda’s electioneering period takes place for a year, if you have walked your areas of residence, you will notice people already have posters up, seeking to replace your LC3, MP and mayor, even when none of these people are dead.
Whoever replaces Ssegirinya will waste our tax money only to get into the House to start campaigning to retain that particular seat in January. That person will be nominated as a candidate before they have even made a year in Parliament.
So why exactly are we rushing to replace a man who has not been around for a big part of the term in the first place?
The lawful thing is to replace him, however, the moral thing would be leaving that seat vacant, it’s under a year. Kawempe North has managed to hang on hope for a bigger part of this term and can continue that way without being thrown into two explosive elections.
Let’s choose morality.