By Mulengera Reporters
On Tuesday, members of the mainstream NRM camp in Wandegeya spent much of the day licking their wounds after their flag bearer Salman Ssozi was defeated, a thing which caused many of them to shed real tears. Detailed event in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozvWhYbC0e0
He polled 260 votes and finished second to Simon Kirabo Ssentamu (322), an independent, who they claimed was funded and fronted by Wandegeya tycoon Harriet Namubiru of the Dream string of restaurants.
A young lady in her 40s, Harriet Namubiru has lately become such a kingmaker in the Wandegeya township to the extent that her candidates (independents) have lately been defeating and humiliating more formidable candidates fronted by both NRM and NUP.
This happened last week during the vote for village Women Council leaders whereby herself she defeated more established candidates from both NUP and NRM to become the village Women Council Chairperson. Harriet Namubiru’s strength lies in being a people person. She is rich, has the money and knows how to invest the money to get the desired political outcomes.
Her string of restaurants are famous for good affordable food and are always full during breakfast, lunch and dinner time. She employs hundreds of young boys and girls, which enables her to project plenty of influence in the politics of Wandegeya township. During the Tuesday elections, Sentamu Kirabo who she fronted easily trounced all the others and was declared the winner with 322 votes.
Others in the race were NRM’s Ssozi Salman (260 votes), NUP’s Shamim Lule Lugoloobi (07 votes), Sadiq Kasozi (06 votes) and Alex Andrew Dada who didn’t turn up and got zero votes. Upon being declared the winner, the Namubiru-backed Sentamu Kirabo went ahead to name his executive committee members-all of whom had to be people agreeable to the Dream tycoon.
As the members of the triumphant Namubiru/Ssentamu camp jubilated and made processions throughout Wandegeya, NRM cadres behind Salman Ssozi convened a news conference at the school near Wandegeya Mosque (where voting took place) and ranted like never before.
They castigated Namubiru the Dream tycoon for introducing money in the politics of Wandegeya and for using the same to front independent candidates and using them to humiliate NRM which she claims to be part of. It was claimed that several NRM music celebrities were used to ring Namubiru imploring her to allow the NRM flag bearer to win the Wandegeya LC1 race but all in vain.
At their news conference after Ssentamu had been declared winner, the NRM cadres shed tears and called upon Justin Nameere, Balaam Barugahara, Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso, ONC’s Hadijah Namyalo and President Museveni himself to intervene and come to their rescue in Wandegeya by prevailing on Namubiru the Dream tycoon who they said had become such a big problem for the NRM party in Wandegeya parish. They accused her of sometimes hobnobbing with people who are opposition in order to serve her personal interests.
They claimed that Namubiru had compromised all Policemen and officers at Wandegeya including the DPC Ndawula who they said wasn’t of any help to them during the Tuesday election fracas. They claimed that all policemen get paid and eat free meals at Namubiru’s Dream restaurants which are everywhere in Wandegeya.
They also castigated the group of election officials from EC, led by Wandegeya parish supervisor Simon Amandi Dickens who they said had long been compromised by Namubiru. The Dream tycoon denied all these allegations and said she is a Ugandan who has a right to participate and influence in her own way.
She said there is no way she can employ so many young people and doesn’t have influence in Wandegeya where she has been an investor for decades. Some of her supporters say that Namubiru deserves to be commended by the NRM top leadership for deploying personal money to prevent and neutralize the NUP wave in Wandegeya parish.
But her accusers rejected all that as mere propaganda and called upon Nameere and Balaam to intervene and force Simon Byabakama to reprimand Amandi and all his other officials for Wandegeya parish for accepting to be compromised by tycoon Namubiru.
The most outspoken at the news conference was Mayi Nabukenya Small of the Wandegeya market who had no kind words for Namubiru whose expulsion from the NRM Party she recommended.
Flanked by Small and his other mobilisers, the fire-spitting Ssozi Salman announced he was considering court action to challenge the circumstances under which tycoon Namubiru’s candidate, who was accused of ferrying in nonresidents, got the win. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
