By Aggrey Baba
Kampala Central MP and Ecological Party (EP) president, Hon. Mohammad Nsereko, has told MPs who lost in recent NRM primaries not to give up but to join his new party, saying there is still room for them. He made the call on Thursday afternoon, during a parliamentary sitting, mixing his words with laughter and sarcasm.
Nsereko started by praising ICT and National Guidance Minister, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi, for boldly admitting that the recent CEC elections where he lost were the hardest he had ever faced. Nsereko noted, while laughing, that the minister had even cried foul, saying money had poured into the race [and turned it into an unfair contest]. To Nsereko, speaking out openly like that was a rare show of honesty in politics.
Turning serious, Nsereko said he was worried that Parliament’s (under Speaker Anita Among) delay in making an official communication to the Electoral Commission to gazette members who have crossed from one party to another (could block new parties like his EP from accessing the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue – IPOD privileges), even when they already have MPs in the House.
To make his point, Nsereko mentioned the case of MP Twaha Kagabo, who left NUP for the ruling NRM and even contested in its recent primaries. Despite this, Kagabo still sits on the opposition side of Parliament, although he was on this day wearing a yellow NRM necktie. Nsereko said this alone is making it hard for him to approach the Bukoto South MP and convince him to join his new party.
Such contradictions, according to Nsereko, show the urgent need for formal communication so that new parties are not left out in the cold.
According to him, losing a primary election should not be the end of a political career. Instead, the EP is ready to give defeated candidates a new home and a fresh chance to serve, because politics should not throw away people like worn-out shoes. When one door closes, another opens, goes an African proverb. And Nsereko insists the Ecological Party is that open door.
With jokes on his lips but strategy in his mind, Nsereko used the floor to market his party as a refuge for the politically wounded and as a player that deserves a seat at the national dialogue table.
