By Otim Nape
In 2021, Mityana MP Francis Zzaake was among those old friends who shocked Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago when they bowed to Kamwokya pressure and turned against him in favour of deal-maker Nabillah Nagayi.
She has just abandoned the Kampala Woman MP job and accepted to become the NUP Lord Mayoral candidate against Lukwago.
To the consternation of key people inside Lukwago’s camp, Zzaake quickly became one of the most destructive critics of the Lord Mayor while propping up deal-maker Nabillah Nagayi.
He mainly used social media to amplify anti-Lukwago messaging largely because that year’s was a scientific election conducted mainly online through social media because of the COVID restrictions.
He fearlessly attacked him but, having chosen to always be the adult in the room, Lukwago (a mentor who had done a lot for Zzaake including bringing Dr. Besigye to campaign for him when he was starting out as Mityana MP Candidate in 2016) played it cool and never fought back though he kept hurting from inside.
A few years later, under the 11th Parliament, Zzaake found himself engulfed in serious legal and political problems after the Parliament Commission position, in which his tycoon dad Butebi had heavily invested, was taken away from him by a conspiracy spearheaded by Gulu City MP Martin Ojara Mapenduzi and other supporters of Speaker Anita Among.
He was accused of using abusive language towards her on social media after Speaker Among disputed his widely publicized claims to be a torture victim by security forces.
Zzaake realized that there was nothing much he would do to fight back politically and be effective. So, he chose the legal path of using courts of law and realised the best lawyer he would have was Erias Lukwago.
Like he had always done all those past years, Lukwago (whose magnanimity and largeness of the heart shocked Zzaake) offered to help. He filed several cases that were pro-Zzaake all the way to the Supreme Court and was never motivated by money in all this.
Significant victories were registered on the court front against Zzaake’s tormentors, under Erias Lukwago’s legal representation.
Then came the Rakai Woman MP Juliet Kinyamatama’s case. Zzaake spoke to NUP supporters in Rakai and belittled Kinyamatama who petitioned the leadership at Parliament as the Rakai video went viral on social media platforms.
The matter was referred to Abdul Katuntu’s rules committee, which conducted public hearings inquiring into Zzaake’s conduct. He needed a lawyer and Lukwago (who isn’t that much about money and can therefore not be compromised) was once again at hand to help.
He sacrificed all his other very important work and for weeks escorted and defended Zzaake in those Katuntu sessions. They were belittled and humiliated together. He actually was there for Zzaake more than his own NUP party through that turbulent period when it was feared that some people in the leadership of Parliament wanted to use the Katuntu committee to permanently expel Zzaake from Parliament.
Now knowledgeable sources say that Zzaake is this time round grateful, cautious and more matured to the extent that he wouldn’t want to be seen as being part of the group of insensitive NUP politicians who are working tooth and nail to get Lukwago out of the Lord Mayor office, which the man from Kabungo has excelled using as a platform to amplify social justice causes of the ordinary poor people in Kampala unlike Ronald Balimwezo who wants to simplistically and deceptively make Kampalans think that its all about putting an engineer at City Hall and everything gets fixed. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
