By Mulengera Reporters
On Saturday, Presidency Minister Milly Babalanda was among the top leaders who joined thousands of people for President Museveni’s Deputy Press Secretary Hajji Faruk Kirunda’s thanksgiving event in Jinja. The event, during which State Minister for Lands Dr. Sam Mayanja was praised for the patriotism, courage, fearlessness and incorruptibility with which he has approached land-grabbing, was held at Hajji Kirunda’s birth place namely Wantunda village in Busedde Sub County Jinja district.
Speakers who addressed the guests included President YK Museveni (whose pre-recorded message was projected on huge screens), VP Jessica Alupo, Deputy Premier Rukia Nakaddama, Gen Christopher Ddamulira who respected the IGP, Salaam Musumba who spoke on behalf of family friends, ex-Minister Daudi Migereko who first spotted Kirunda as a young school boy in S2, Thomas Tayebwa (stayed briefly in the morning), Gen Katumba Wamala who thanked the President for spotting and mentoring Hajji Kirunda, Linda Nabusayi and Mariam Namayanja Sebaggala on behalf of the host’s State House workmates and MP Idi Isabirye who spoke on behalf of Busoga Parliamentary Group just to mention a few.
A large number of Ministers, MPs (current and former), media executives and the clergy were also in attendance. Speaking as a mentor and longtime supervisor, Milly Babalanda (for whom Kirunda is PA besides speaking for the President) spoke about many things including the celebrant’s hard work, dependability and contempt for material things which, she said, had enabled him to resist all manner of temptations to act corruptly.
Babalanda said that, unlike many big people who pretend to be godly only to cover up their corrupt ways and greed for money and other material things, Hajji Kirunda is dedicated to loyally serving the President without ever trying to use his office or position to extort money from poor people or grab what doesn’t belong to him. She was the right person to testify about Kirunda’s character and work ethic because they have been through a lot together.
They first worked together under BRUDA (Busoga Rural Development Association in the early 2010s) through which the President sought to alleviate poverty and mobilize masses towards the GoU wealth creation initiatives in Busoga. Babalanda headed it and Hajji Kirunda spearheaded the mobilization of the effort in the media. Babalanda said the President was grateful with their honesty and hard work-and rewarded them by posting her to head his personal political mobilization office at Kyambogo, which the duo gradually popularized as ONC.
That President, who by that time had known Kirunda more deeply, is the one who specifically directed her to have him serve there as the Administrator and it’s their version of ONC that delivered Museveni’s 2021 reelection. Babalanda said the President appreciated them again by making her Presidency Minister and Kirunda as his Deputy Private Secretary. He had previously deputized Aisha Kabanda on the media management desk in State House. When he was made Deputy Press Secretary, Kirunda had to expressly be permitted by the President to also serve as PA to Babalanda.
At the Busedde event, the Presidency Minister described her protégé as workaholic, truthful, religious and incorruptible. That, unlike many public officials, Kirunda’s godliness is genuine and not cosmetic, Babalanda testified. She then proceeded to reveal how such high offices sometimes expose the President’s appointees to many money-making opportunities-including fraudulent ones.
She said herself has been tempted a lot too but she has always stood firm by the grace of God and has never accepted financial gratifications aimed at blinding her away from the plight of the ordinary poor Ugandans. That, as the Minister concerned with RDCs, many evil land grabbers have tried to use her in the targeted areas to get rid of hardworking and public-spirited RDCs who stand in their way to grab land of poor people.
She referred to a recent Kiryandongo incident where she had to leverage on Dr. Sam Mayanja’s knowledge, firmness and honesty to rescue widows and other vulnerable community members whose 500 hectares was on the verge of being grabbed by an army general.
Babalanda said that, having realized that it wasn’t going to be possible to grab that land unless the RDC and herself as the supervisor had been compromised, the land-grabbing General sneaked into her office with a lot of money in order to buy her support. Babalanda told the congregation at Busedde over the weekend that sacks of money were sneaked into her office to bribe her so that she turns her back on the vulnerable persons to enable the General grab 500 hectares of land in Kiryandongo. She said she told off the giver and chased him away with his sacks of money and then proceeded working with Sam Mayanja to rescue the land and hundreds of the President’s poor supporters are now living happily on their land in Kiryandongo.
Minister Babalanda said there are many powerful people like that who, unlike Hajji Kirunda, pretend to be godly at public functions yet they are evil-minded inside their hearts. That because good people have lately become so scarce, Babalanda predicted truthful and incorruptible officials like Hajji Kirunda would stay long in the President’s service because the big man from Rwakitura is always desperately looking around for good people to hand sensitive pro-people assignments to who are not thieves.
She made it clear that as long as God helps him not to change, Hajji Kirunda’s civil service career is just at the beginning. She predicted many greater things likely to come to his way. Babalanda also commended Dr. Sam Mayanja for working well with her and RDCs to stand up to land grabbers who sometimes happen to be powerful public officials determined to use money and threats to cow poor people off their land.
The day’s MCs MP Milton Muwuma, NBS popular presenters Tony Wantimba and Meddie Dakaba repeatedly cracked jokes about Dr. Mayanja’s relentless fights against land grabbers who one speaker casually predicted might bewitch the Minister one day so that the President fires him. What the MCs were saying was that Dr. Mayanja has relentlessly pursued land grabbers more than any of his predecessors had ever done. They called on the congregation at Kirunda’s home to always pray for the fearless thick-skinned State Minister from Mityana because the fight against land grabbing, which he is on the frontline of, has never been for the faint-hearted.
In his brief remarks, Mayanja saluted Hajji Kirunda for being a pragmatic civil servant to whom he refers often whenever he faces a field-related challenge that requires quick fixing. He was thankful he has never approached Faruk Kirunda and his problem wasn’t fixed or solved. He prayed upon Allah to always abundantly bless his faithful servant Hajji Kirunda. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at [email protected]).
