By Our Reporters
If there is any politician that continues to live under deep dilemma, then that must be State ICT Minister Idah Nantaba. Faced with hostile crowds, mostly of young people who advised her to shun NRM on grounds the top leadership resisted her reelection, Nantaba as of December last year prepared to eat her cake and have it at the same time. Her game plan was to acquiesce with the passing of the Magyezi-sponsored Constitutional amendment bill (scrapping age limits) without angering voters who clearly were against it. It was such a big dilemma for Maama Kayunga because resisting the thing openly also had serious implications given that she is a minister bound by the doctrine of collective responsibility. Whereas during consultation meetings, she seemed okay propagating people’s views (opposing the Bill), critics say Nantaba never declined facilitation Kampala was giving MPs and Ministers to go popularize Magyezi’s bill. Wherever she went, voters unanimously said “don’t dare touch it.” In fact their instructions were that she goes to Kampala and represent their voice on the floor of Parliament, which she didn’t do. As the debate raged, Nantaba was nowhere to be seen, something that made voters feel betrayed. Whereas State House is angry she didn’t stand with the President, who never hid his support for Magyezi bill, voters say she betrayed them by absenting herself on such a crucial day. “It might have been the safe way for her going about such a complex matter but voters say that wasn’t enough. She was absent and they say this prevented their voice from being heard,” says a Kayunga-based journalist and political pundit. “Voters became hostile and she was rarely here to explain her case. This created a vacuum which her foes have gradually exploited to alienate her. Her campaign coordinators couldn’t explain her whereabouts and this created pressure on them yet honorable couldn’t take their calls.”
ATTACKS OWN ALLIES;
The mounting Togikwatako pressure made Nantaba to become politically very stressed and make many mistakes including attacking her own political allies on merely suspecting them of working with the camp of Moses Karangwa (whom she calls Sitani/evil one). One of the key allies she attacked and has since fallen out is LC5 Chairman Tom Serwanga and the feuding started from the day his daughter graduated. Nantaba was away and didn’t attend the party at Nazigo Town SS (owned by Serwanga). Karangwa, whose candidates Nantaba successfully resisted in 2016 elections having demonizingly painted him as a land grabber, took advantage of her absence and attended. He unexpectedly showed up in a group of several LC3 Sub County Chairpersons many of whom had been Nantaba’s camp members in 2016. He was cheered by the crowd that had clearly been agonizing over Nantaba’s failure to stand in solidarity with her ally Serwanga on such a big family day. She got wind of this and started sending text messages accusing Serwanga of betrayal. Serwanga’s pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears. Weeks later Nantaba presided over an event at Bbale hospital where she attacked Serwanga telling the gathering that he was now a prominent member of Karangwa’s camp that is full of thieves and land grabbers. Serwanga was in attendance but kept quiet partly because he didn’t want to humiliate the Minister who is actually his in-law. Idah is closely related to Serwanga’s wife. Pressure from supporters, who are equally angry at Nantaba’s unfulfilled pledges, gradually forced Serwanga to embrace and work with Karangwa more openly. Nantaba protested by escalating attacks on him. Nantaba expected Ntenjeru South MP Fred Baseke to equally declare hostility against Serwanga for betraying their camp and when that didn’t happen, she declared war on him too. As per now, the two don’t talk and Nantaba regrets shunning then incumbent Patrick Nsanja in 2016 in favor of Baseke. Nsanja, who has been lobbying for the RDC job in vain, has become energized of the potential Nantaba alliance and has since commenced early campaigns against Baseke. In 2016, Nantaba was very powerful and even had SFC guards all of whom are now gone increasing her political vulnerability. Whereas in 2016 everybody feared standing against her because of her popularity (except Karangwa-backed Juliet Nalunga whom she easily trounced), today the number of ladies eyeing the post is growing by the day. They so far include Dorothy Byekwaso, Agatha, Lydia and FDC’s Harriet Nakwedde who represents Kayonza Sub County on the district council where she also serves as Secretary for education. She has effectively used the education docket to traverse the district saturating it with charitable donations like school children uniforms, bed sheets and mattresses-and her influence is deepest in Busana and Rugasa Sub Counties. She is also supporting kuroiler poultry projects among women groups, a thing that has made Nantaba more restless. She also has some Bazungu philanthropists funding her projects as district councilor. Nakwedde has clearly distinguished herself as flag bearer for all the young people subscribing to People Power in Kayunga townships.
RESORTS TO COOKING FOOD;
Like Nambooze’s Mukono predecessor Bakaluba Mukasa used to do, Nantaba has resorted to cooking food and holding feasts for voters to soften the Togikwatako anger. On such feasts, Nantaba serves food and hires disco to entertain the youths (mostly Boda riders) through the weekend. It’s on parish level and recently Nantaba, who sources say looks forward to allying with Bobi Wine, promised Nabukooma parish residents (Busana Sub County) such food and disco but her phones were off on the appointed days (8th and 9th December). Angry voters, who spent weeks anticipating early Christmas feasting, turned the anger on her coordinators who had been mobilizing them to turn up. The coordinators became angrier when they failed to locate her (even on phone) that day. Her private phone was on but their calls went unanswered. She later got in touch and accused them of betrayal by claiming the villages they had selected are full of Karangwa moles. The coordinators reacted by defecting to Karangwa’s camp leaving Nantaba more isolated. Some suspect that Nantaba might have been broke that weekend hence the decision to stay away. This brokenness (resulting mostly from land court cases where people sued her personally) is one of the many weaknesses Karangwa has capitalized on to uproot her political structures and network. “Her brother Amos Lugolobi [of Ntenjeru North] voted to touch it openly but he has been rehabilitating voters by being generous and available to them,” says one of the area political pundits we spoke to for this news article. “Some voters now refer to her as the cry girl of Kayunga because each time her coordinators defect she goes crying questioning why all these political misfortunes.” Some of her former coordinators now disgruntled include a one Kasule, a one Chandiru, a one Olowo and a one Topista. The Busana coordinator quit her camp recently after being innocently accused of embezzling Shs0.3m. There was a function at the home of Busana Sub County Chairman Mubi Aliwo and Nantaba pledged Shs0.3m saying “my coordinator will deliver it.” She never gave it to him yet Mubi Aliwo was repeatedly told the money was given to the coordinator. This painted the coordinator to be a crook which demonized him to the extent of defecting to Karangwa. It later emerged Nantaba wouldn’t send the money because she got information the Busana Sub County Chairman is a Karangwa mole.
LOSES SDA VOTE;
Nantaba is a practicing SDA Christian and this has always been her block vote being one of the very few SDA MPs and Ministers visible in the Museveni state. In Kayunga, the SDA churches always took her as their own but this recently gradually began changing. And here is what happened: her own Ndeeba SDA Church had a problem of public address system being faulty. One of the members reached out to Karangwa who instantly bought a full system for them. When Nantaba heard about it she hit the roof saying “over my dead body.” Her vigilantes stormed the church premises and forcefully beat up the technicians who were doing the installation. Church officials became bitter and reported a criminal tress pass case at police and the Nantaba vigilantes got caged. This incident has since fractured what used to be a block vote for her. She called Karangwa’s offer satanic and got some church members to agree with her against a significant majority that have continued condemning her for the actions on her vigilantes. The rumor that she is relocating to Bbale County in 2021 has further fractured her district-wide political network as incumbent Nsamba Kumama’s supporters too have ganged up on her saying she should leave their man alone. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
