By Kassim Sematimba
Mukono Municipality was gripped by political drama on Wednesday as NRM candidate Dr Daisy Sarah Ssonko Nabatanzi electrified a crowd of ghetto youths at Nakiyanja with an explosive message: she only needs one parliamentary term to fix what she says has been decades of neglect.
Dr Ssonko pleaded with voters to give her just five years in Parliament, boldly declaring that this single term would be enough for her to solve the long-standing problems that have held Mukono back.
Her speech took direct aim at incumbent MP Betty Nambooze Bakireke, whom she accused of spending 25 years in Parliament “talking loudly but delivering little.”
She claimed that Mukono has suffered from Nambooze’s failure to lobby for major government programs like the Parish Development Model, Youth Livelihood, and Emyooga, programs which other areas are already benefiting from.
Ssonko vowed to connect Mukono Municipality directly to President Museveni so that development flows faster than ever before.
In a moment that left the crowd stunned, Dr Ssonko made one of the most dramatic promises of the campaign season: she announced that once Nambooze is voted out of Parliament, she—Dr Ssonko—will personally take care of all of Nambooze’s needs for the rest of her life.
She insisted that the incumbent MP should not worry about life after Parliament, a statement that sent the crowd into murmurs of disbelief.
Dr Ssonko went on to outline her ongoing contributions to Mukono, saying she has already provided 20 boreholes in Goma Division, offered 470 students bursaries for secondary school, and supported 78 university students—achievements she says prove her commitment even before entering Parliament.
She also promised to push for the establishment of a DIT vocational centre in Mukono to help young people who fail to continue in formal education.
According to her, the proposal for the centre is already prepared and only awaits action.
NRM district chairperson Hajji Haruna Semakula added momentum to the rally, pledging to lobby more financial support from President Yoweri Museveni and CDF Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba for the people of Mukono.
He urged residents to keep President Museveni in power so that they continue receiving benefits they have not yet experienced from the NRM government.
He also promised protection for residents threatened by evictions in Nakiyanja and contributed 300,000 shillings toward the establishment of NRM offices in Goma Division.
Ghetto leaders in Nakiyanja showered Dr Ssonko with praise. Musa Saku declared that Nakiyanja is no longer the dangerous no-go area it once was, crediting recent improvements to the kind of leadership Dr Ssonko represents.
Another leader, Nazir Sali, known as General Kukusoni, said the ghetto community is already benefiting from Dr Ssonko even before she becomes an MP.
He appealed to her to lobby President Museveni to provide vehicles for ghetto empire leaders just like those given to cultural leaders.
As the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for January 15, 2025 draw closer, Nakiyanja and the entire Mukono Municipality are buzzing with anticipation.
With Dr Ssonko’s dramatic promises, fierce criticism of Nambooze, and her astonishing pledge to take care of the incumbent after Parliament, Mukono’s political atmosphere has never been more intense—or more sensational. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
