By Our Reporters
Ronald Leonard Egesa has lately made a name for himself closely rivaling the legendary TVO (Tom Voltaire Okwalinga) when it comes to tormenting public officials. He started what he calls the crusade to fight corruption in public offices, with a scathing attack on then Head teacher Old Kampala SS Aziida Nsubuga. He prompted the authorities to transfer Aziida to more remote Kasaawo SS. Egesa, who chairs the alumni association (OKOSA), accused her of corruption and incompetence. This appeasement policy inspired insatiable Egesa to demand for more. When Aziida was transferred, the authorities considered it prudent to transfer Godfrey Sekandi who had been her deputy along with her. The two had been antagonistic with Sekandi being widely seen as the proxy through whom Egesa was undermining Aziida. Sekandi, whose transfer greatly angered Egesa, was posted to Kasanga SS. This is something Egesa, who wanted him retained at Old Kampala, vigorously protested. He went as far as saying Kasanga had staff quarters that were improperly furnished and therefore unfit for human habitation.
He advocated for Sekandi but the Ministry of Education ignored him questioning the capacity in which the Busia-born Facebook Bully (Egesa has effectively become one) was protesting the act of Ministry officials exercising their lawful mandate. Egesa tried to tackle the concerned Commissioner in the Ministry threatening to expose his dirty past in Mbale SS where he was head teacher before. Instead of cracking the whip hard, the ministry of education officials still preferred dialogue with Egesa, a thing that emboldened him to make more demands. In the meantime whoever ruled on a matter in a way he didn’t like suffered the wrath of Egesa including being investigated right from one’s school days. Egesa’s men went as far as visiting ministries where some of these technocrats had worked before. Apparently all this was meant to threaten them to rule in Egesa’s favor regarding the endless petitions he kept bringing to their attention. Whoever displeased him was sure to be bullied on Egesa’s facebook page. In pursuit of his agenda, Egesa (a renowned social climber) visited many big offices and this created an impression amongst his OKOSA peers that the man from Busia was highly connected. Some had gone as far as thinking the man worked in State House whereas not.
At some point it was claimed in some social media reports that Museveni (who it turned out doesn’t even know him) had appointed Egesa to be his assistant in charge of city public schools in Kampala. Indeed the man had become very outspoken on those matters ever denouncing perceived mafia tycoons targeting school lands. The guys in the President’s Press Unit had to clarify they don’t have an officer called Egesa. Things were later to worsen for Egesa when Museveni reacted very angrily during a meeting with new DPCs IGP Kayihura deployed in the KMP in the aftermath of Felix Kaweesi’s murder. Museveni asked the DPCs why community policing programs had become less visible and they told him there was no facilitation.
One of them gave example of venues being very difficult to get. Museveni wondered how that could be a problem when there are many public schools in Kampala with open play grounds. The DPC for Old Kampala told Museveni about her experience: “Sir we are very willing to make use of those playgrounds but what you have just said is different from what always happens. In my case I have Old Kampala SS with good play grounds but we can’t use it for free. There is a man called Egesa whose group says we must pay user fees first.” Sources at the meeting say that, burning with a rage, Museveni furiously asked: “Who is that so-called Egesa? Which powers does he have to sabotage a well known government program?” He was told an impression had been created that Egesa is highly connected to his State House and to military generals. “That can’t be. We aren’t aware of such a person in government and I’m directing the SFC to investigate what the DPC has just told us and produce a report for me regarding what exactly is happening with that play field,” Museveni was quoted as decisively saying.
EGESA MOVES ON:
In the meantime, Egesa who was becoming disappointed by inaction of the offices he visited first kept approaching whatever office he believed would listen to his grievances insisting there was a lot of corruption not only at Old Kampala but in many of the public schools around Kampala. Among the offices he approached was KCCA Education Directorate headed by Juliet Namuddu. Feeling he wasn’t being helped fast enough, the relentless Egesa resorted to the IGG but was advised his issues would better be handled by other offices. Besides petitioning the Auditor General John Muwanga (something he always bragged about eagerly expecting good results), Egesa also remained in touch with Education Ministry. Whenever he didn’t get helped, he concluded that office had been compromised by the so-called Mafias he deceptively says he was fighting. This belligerent approach rubbed many the hard way and that is how places like the IGG’s office were declared out of bounds for him.
MUGAGGA NOT FALLIBLE:
As his operational space appeared to be shrinking, Egesa turned his guns on Hajji Mugaga the Head Teacher Kibuli SS. The truth is this Mugaga man not infallible. He is simply human and he no doubt has made mistakes like all mortal men have. But how did Egesa come to zero in on him out of the many other fallible men and women in our public schools (at the time and in the manner he did)? It had a lot to do with Egesa’s right hand man and long time ally Patrick Musinguzi. Considered to be the more restrained version of Egesa, Musinguzi sits on the governing board of Old Kampala SS where he was deployed by Egesa to represent the alumni association (OKOSA). It’s not clear what he exactly does for a living but what we know with certainty is that his wife Joweria Nabagereka is a language teacher at Kibuli SS. She was sometime back transferred to Entebbe High School which meant her family would lose the previledge of free accommodation in Kibuli Staff Quarters which is within Kampala. Being very far away from the City, Entebbe was such an inconvenience. Her friends and relatives felt Mugaga didn’t do enough to shield their bread winner against such a very crippling transfer.
And they always plotted revenge at the earliest opportunity. Nabagereka being a senior member of staff meant that Egesa (or even Musinguzi for that matter) didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to become privy to Mugagga’s fallibilities as Kibuli HM. For Egesa privity to Mugagga’s dirty secrets (that many only whispered about) was a God-sent opportunity. He started tackling Mugaga like there was no tomorrow and the Kibuli HM became traumatized, cracked so fast and family members and pals began fearing he could die of pressure. The torment was too much that at some point, Egesa required him to leave his home at midnight and drive to Kololo and meet him at a certain hotel. Ill-fated Mugaga was under the illusionary impression that Egesa was a big man in IGP Gen Kale Kayihura’s entourage meaning the consequences of defying such a highly connected man’s summons would result into dire consequences. While at Kololo, the much tormented Mugaga was recorded and made to answer questions as if he was recording a police CIID statement. He left thinking the gentleman he had just met was doing Gen Kale Kayihura’s assignment whereas not. On advice and encouragement of friends, Mugaga eventually recomposed himself and reported the matter to Police seeking protection against unending torment by Egesa.
The security operatives have since become privy to some of the text messages Egesa would send to the overwhelmed Mugaga giving him deadlines to meet him or risk his facebook wrath. One of the messages, sent at 6: 33PM on Saturday January 20th 2018 reads as follows: “Call me back at the earliest. If you cannot call, please prepare your hand over report from KSS. My name is Egesa [we have refrained from disclosing here the MTN line on which this message came-editor].” We couldn’t readily establish what Mugagga’s response was to this message but what is clear is that it didn’t take long for the Egesa-orchestrated cyber war on Mugaga to commence. The theater for this cyber warfare was epi-centered on Egesa’s facebook wall (Egesa Ronald Leonard) through which many other public figures have been brutally tormented by Egesa. The other victims of Egesa cyber-bullying tactics include Minister Chris Baryomunsi plus some officials at his Ministry and Attorney General Muwanga just to mention a few.
WHY ATTACK MUWANGA?
Egesa’s well published attacks on Muwanga resulted from the anger generated by the latter’s audit report on Old Kampala SS. Whereas he is the one who petitioned calling for the audit, Egesa ended up dying in his own movie whereby he was badly indicted in Muwanga’s report. The report among other things requires that as the OKOSA boss. Egesa must refund over Shs130m that was improperly taken from the school accounts. Muwanga also declares illegal the Shs10,000 OKOSA has been collecting from each student in the candidate classes. The report also requires that OKOSA’s offices should be removed from the school premises and faults OKOSA executive members for intimidating teachers, the head teacher and the rest of top management and board members.
The report also disapprovingly refers to the deal the school had given Egesa’s company Magezi Solutions to supply very expensive software that eventually malfunctioned and didn’t work for the school. The report further indicts Egesa for turning OKOSA into a company limited by guarantee as opposed to being an alumni association as envisaged in the Education Act. The report also directs that police carries out further criminal investigations that could in the end see the much inflated Egesa rot in jail for his wrongful deeds. Friends are now afraid doubting where Egesa is going to mobilize the over Shs130m that Muwanga wants refunded to the school. Muwanga also wonders which type of alumni association Egesa’s OKOSA is: the AG is perturbed that instead of raising money for the school development programs, like other alumni associations do, Egesa’s OKOSA is only parasiting on the school by imposing illegal fees on students in candidate classes.
MUZAATA UNLEASHED:
Whereas we at Mulengera news website don’t agree with architects of this, we have a duty to report what we have gathered as being in the works awaiting Egesa in the coming days. Muslims in the education sector argue (and we think fallaciously) that Egesa is out to witch-hunt them as Muslims. They refer to his past victims as having been mostly Muslims. They consider Hajjati Aziida who was relegated to remote Kasaawo merely because of the pressure Egesa mounted. Critics think Aziida faced this wrath because she was a Muslim. We disagree because even the new Old Kampala Head teacher Peter Muloni (not Muslim) is already uncomfortable with Egesa and has lately complained of too much interference by some OKOSA executive members in his work as H/M. It’s said that having failed to manipulate this law-abiding man from the East, Egesa adherents have started a cold war against the new H/M calling him fake and incompetent. That is our view but the Muslims, it appears have already charged their battery and are itching for public war with the man from Busia (Egesa). “We are clearly convinced that Egesa is out to destroy educated Muslims and discredit them out of the education system. He has maliciously accused Hajji Lubega Waggwa [Education Service Commission chairman], Mohammed Kamulegeya and Hajjat Aisha Lubega [the EC vice chair and ex-HM Nabisunsa Girls] of things that have no basis at all.
He finished Aziida and is now on Hajji Mugaga. He is subjecting him to too much torture and wants to send him to his creator. Do you really think it’s easy to produce an eminent educationist of Hajji Mugagga’s stature? Are all the others angels? He has gone as far as speculating about his HIV status and the Ministry of Education has tolerated this Egesa nonsense for too long. Did you know that Hajji Mugaga is out of office on alleged sex offences for which there is no single complainant? How do you require somebody out of office merely basing on a mere facebook post? Who is Egesa? Who does he work as for him to become so important that a whole head teacher has to lose his job simply because of a facebook post?” ranted a Muslim scholar who prays at Kibuli Mosque. “We have our gun called Muzaata. It’s the gun we have deployed to win very big wars before. Do you know how many very powerful people Sheikh Nuhu Muzaata has crippled using the microphone? Just wait to see how the same team is going to tackle that so-called facebook bully in just a matter of hours.
The government and security agencies will have to come out and denounce him publicly because an impression has been created that Egesa works for General so & so. They will have to come out and clear the air on our own terms and not Egesa’s. Just watch this space.” We are reliably informed that failure to get any complainant (victims of sex harassment by Mugaga as alleged by Egesa) explains why the Education Ministry technocrats under the guidance of the sector political leaders cautiously asked him to take leave as opposed to being interdicted. He would sue and once he did, Mugaga didn’t need to have a very good lawyer to win the case challenging the procedural impropriety surrounding his interdiction had the ministry acted that way. He would in the end be rewarded colossal sums of money through court of law that his lawyers were ready to petition via Judicial Review application. Watch this space for more updates on this Egesa story including an elaborate interview with the leaders of the dissenting OKOSA faction whose view is that Egesa is unfit to lead their alumni association. To comment on this story, reach us on mulengeranews@gmail.com
