By Mulengera Reporters
Since leaving Makerere University (in 1994) where she studied Fine Art, Ruth Nankabirwa Sentamu (a Nabisunsa OG) has never done any other work apart from politics-basically being Minister and MP. But having been fatally electrocuted out of the way by the Kyagulanyi wave that swept through the entire Buganda region during the Thursday 14th January 2021 elections, the 56-year-old Nankabirwa must begin to look at life beyond living off the taxpayer.
Gratefully, the flamboyant politician, who has been Minister since 1996 without break, had invested in some other lucrative business activities which her husband (who she met as a finalist at Makerere) has loyally been overseeing as she served the country. She was first introduced to Gen Museveni by then leading NRM figure in Kiboga Rhoda Kalema (was also woman MP) and the bubbly Nankabirwa never looked back. She was among the young girls from the village who served as ushers at a function Gen Museveni, then a very revolutionary President, presided over at Rhoda Kalema’s home.
Having been with Gen Museveni since the days of UPM, Rhoda Kalema (whose husband had been a key ally of Obote I only to get assassinated later on) felt it was time to quit the elective politics of Kiboga (she had been in NRC as women representative) and fronted Nankabirwa, then a very gorgeous-looking young graduate from Makerere. Luck instantly followed the warm-hearted Nankabirwa as Gen Museveni immediately took note and made her Minister after securing a resounding victory as Kiboga Woman MP in the 1996 elections. She had equally represented the same district in CA.
Her Cabinet/Ministerial journey, that would last 25 years, began with being posted as Minister for Luwero Triangle (of which Kiboga was part) before being elevated to Defense where she served as State Minister at a time the Kony LRA madness was at its peak. She has to regularly appear in Parliament to brief the House where she faced very inquisitive opposition MPs of those days led by Aggrey Awori, Ken Lukyamuzi, Dick Nyai, Ben Wacha and others.
After an 8-year stint in Defense (where she didn’t have exactly very excellent relations with CDF Aronda Nyakayirima), Nankabirwa was posted to the Ministry of Microfinance and subsequently Fisheries under MAAIF. It’s from MAAIF that Gen Museveni, who everybody thought was angry with her having been portrayed as a Mbabazist, made her Government Chief Whip in Parliament. This was the largest and most lucrative deployment for her because for the first time, the very ambitious blonde from Kiboga was at the level of full cabinet minister (and not state Minister anymore).
It was also a complicated assignment because it brought her into direct conflict with many citizens and stakeholders in the Ugandan project who didn’t like the way the NRM caucus (which she chaired as GCW) was detrimentally influencing legislation on very important subjects like the age limit clause whose deletion enabled Gen Museveni (who many citizens desired to see retire by now) to stay on as the veteran ruler of Uganda. The caucus itself was naturally a complicated assignment and being its leader, Nankabirwa found herself fighting many wars and political battles that ordinarily should have been Gen Museveni’s. For instance, her well-publicized bickering with Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, who many say is complicated, wouldn’t have occurred at all if Nankabirwa didn’t find herself occupying the office of GCW through which Gen Museveni inevitably does all the political heavy-lifting that has to go through Parliament.
Many now believe the Kadaga fight is what will go in history as the waterloo of sorts for Nankabirwa’s political career in the country’s history. She put off her gloves and went bare knuckles on the very unforgiving woman from Kamuli in September 2020 and in January 2021, barely four months later, lost her Kiboga Woman MP Seat to a one Christine Nakimwero, the little-known political upstart from Robert Kyagulanyi’s NUP.
THE FUTURE
Nankabirwa, who has already been quietly carrying away her personal belongings from the GCW office ahead of the May term expiry, now says she is ready to carry on with life outside being MP for Kiboga. Speaking to UBC TV on Sunday Night (under the segment called Follow the Personality), Nankabirwa said she was now focusing on her commercial farming activities and took the journalists from the state-owned broadcaster on a guided tour of her large pine, eucalyptus and Matooke plantations. She will now be having more time to carry out adequate supervision of this Kiboga-Ndejje plantation which sits on over 50 acres.
Nankabirwa also, along with her husband, has another family business which is a pine and eucalyptus plantation of more than 500 acres still in her native hilly district of Kiboga. Now seems to be the best time to put all these to full productive capacity given that plenty of time will be available to her. But turning into academia would be another possible option given that she is still relatively young (just 56) and already has a master’s degree from Makerere University.
At 56, Nankabirwa could leverage on her vast hands-experience in defense and armed conflict resolution to take up a teaching job at a University as she undertakes a PhD. This she doesn’t have to do for money or for a living but out of desire to serve humanity and give back to the Ugandan community that has looked after her for the last 28 years (since leaving Makerere). But Gen Museveni, notwithstanding his declining appeal/influence among peers at AU, could equally leverage on his multiple connections and get her an international job (though that will be a hard one given the fiasco that has befallen Specioza Kazibwe and Prof Pamela Sabiiti who he has previously sponsored and campaigned for; for the AU jobs).
It’s also true that Nankabirwa, who now has more time for family and to cook for her long-deprived husband, isn’t materially a poor woman at all. She owns expensive lucrative properties in the Kampala neighborhoods of Rubaga and Lubowa where she currently lives in a palatial residence. She is also easily among the wealthiest land lords in her home town of Kiboga (could become Municipality in the near future) where she owns many storied commercial buildings including one which houses the district NRM offices in the heart of the town.
Gen Museveni, who now doesn’t have a large pool to choose from regarding the very influential Buganda region, could as well opt to keep her around as an ex-officio cabinet Minister like he did with or for Hon Irene Muloni who lucratively continued serving as Energy Minister even after losing her Bulambuli District Woman MP Seat in 2016. Archbishop Stephen Kazimba Mugalu (a father figure of sorts to Nankabirwa) is among those Gen Museveni consults a lot these days and his advice could easily result into Nankabirwa being retained moreover in a more empowered cabinet assignment. Some time back, when he got frustrated with Rugunda’s indecisiveness, a furious Gen Museveni considered firing his incumbent PM and deploy him into some diplomatic role at the UN.
Mulengera News has it on good authority that Gen Museveni rang Kazimba and Kabaka of Buganda imploring them to recommend to him someone. In the end, the two big-name opinion leaders preferred Ruth Nankabirwa (in Kazimba’s case) and city lawyer Apollo Makubuya (in Kabaka’s case). Gen Museveni was furious the COVID19 relief food procurement-related scandal at the OPM had happened without the Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda being able to adequately supervise Permanent Secretary Christine Kintu Guwatudde and other technocrats on whom he unleashed his attack girl Col Edith Nakalema resulting into their interdiction and prosecution in the criminal courts. (For comments on this story, call, text or whatsapp us on 0705579994, 0779411734, 0200900416 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).