JUST ASKING: HAS LUTAAYA QUIT NRM?

Veteran musician Geoffrey Lutaaya has created anxiety in the NRM party whose members thought he was more sympathetic to them than the opposition. Unlike Ronald Mayinja, whose songs have always clearly indicated where he politically belongs, Lutaaya has always been vague and even those wanting to guess always found it easier placing him to NRM than opposition. This could have been strategy because he hails from Rakai (now Kyotera) district that is largely rural and therefore NRM stronghold and Lutaaya wants to stand for Kakuuto County MP Seat. He qualifies because Mityebiri Township where he hails from is one of the major urban areas in Kakuuto County. He has always hobnobbed with renowned NRM people like Elly Kayanja and Haruna Kasolo who considers himself the biggest NRM boss now in Kyotera district. It appears the hostility residents showed towards Kasolo over his Gikwateko position must have taught Lutaaya a lesson that NRM is increasingly becoming hard brand to sell to the voters in Kyotera who even rejected Kasolo-backed candidate and voted DP’s Robina Sentongo for the woman MP Seat. In the middle of the Togikwatako agitation across the country, Lutaaya organized a huge musical concert in Kasambya playground where he celebrated his birth day. Kasolo was guest of honor and hundreds of the youths used this very birth day party to demand for accountability from Kasolo. Kasolo thought it was a joke. He hoped against hope that Lutaaya, who kept calling for calm, would eventually prevail over the heckling youths from the crowd. When time came to cut the cake, the crowd surged forward, assaulted Kasolo and even destroyed the cake while chorusing “twakowa abenkwe [we resent traitors].” The birth day party ended in chaos with police intervening to evacuate Minister Haruna Kasolo. This incident, it seems, taught Lutaaya some good lessons about the consequences of publicly fraternizing with NRM. It appears he has since de-camped to flock with the opposition.

THE EVIDENCE?
A few days ago, Lutaaya drove to Jinja and campaigned for FDC candidate Paul Mwiru who is facing NRM strongman Nathan Igeme Nabeta. Insiders in the Mwiru camp say Lutaaya came by himself not that they reached out to him. He was joined by Hilderman Kiyaga (aka Mazongoto) and Ronald Mayinja who equally offered to camp in Jinja at their own cost and de-campaign the NRM candidate. They also excited the crowd signing free of charge. Whereas Mayinja wants to run for Gomba MP Seat, Hilderman wants to unseat his former sponsor Amelia Kyambadde of Mawokota North. He is riding on the anger voters have with the way Amelia voted on Togikwatako. We have established that the trio were actually mobilized by ex-Presidential candidate Sam Lubega whose JT Platform has been considering backing musicians in many Buganda constituencies just like they did in Kyaddondo East of Bobi Wine. Lubega, who has since asked to take a role in the Mwiru campaign, worked with John Sebuwufu, a DP veteran. They both have Parliamentary ambitions and hope to ride on such alliances to prevail against NRM incumbents in 2021. Lubega wants to run for Mawokota South whose incumbent is JB Lubyayi of NRM and Sebuwufu wants to run against Buyamba MP a one Amos Mandera of the NRM party. At the Jinja rally, a group of FDC activists led by Mohammed Segirinya and KCCA councilor Wamala Zigwa seemed to be very excited with the prospect of especially Mazongoto and Lutaaya embracing the struggle. Unlike Mayinja, the duo has always been perceived to be NRM. The trio is expected back in Jinja to join Mwiru on many other subsequent campaign rallies.