By Mulengera Reporters
Henry Mayega, a former influential aide to ex-President Milton Obote, is favored to become the new ED KCCA. Kampala Minister Beti Kamya, who used to be Mayega’s fellow panelist on Capital Gang, has been given three names by security agencies (KCCA’s Andrew Kitaka, URA’s Patrick Mukiibi & Mayega) to choose from for the President to sign the instrument of appointment. Mayega, who famously defected to NRM along with others like Badru Wegulo, has since that time been serving as Deputy Ambassador to China though he has largely been disgruntled not having worked well with Amb Wagidoso and now Crispus Kiyonga. Even at Foreign affairs, he hasn’t had it easy with his supervisors in Kampala because of supervision problems. The bosses at Foreign Affairs where all diplomats are supervised have been critical that Mayega was always in Kampala politicking for the NRM on radio talk shows and authoring newspaper articles bashing Bobi Wine and KB instead of doing diplomatic work in Beijing. Since his defection, Mayega has done alot for the President (whom he worships like a god) by especially persuading many UPC youths to defect to NRM and become RDCs. The most notorious examples include Jinja RDC Eric Sakwa and Kyeyune Senyonjo formerly of Buikwe. These two have excelled as RDCs having been appointed during Frank Tumwebaze’s time as Presidency Minister. They are also active on radio talk shows on Simba, CBS and others. Mayega has to be rewarded for all that work and for his sycophancy since joining NRM. He is a Muganda (of Nyonyi clan) from Nakasongora which fits in well with Museveni’s political calculus which continues to be focussed on neutralizing Bobi Wine ahead of 2021. He is flamboyant and energetic and would be more effective than even Jennifer Musisi when it comes to undermining Lukwago or any other opposition Mayor at City Hall. He has also been regular on Capital Gang and Simon Njala’s Morning Breeze. Critics at Foreign Affairs wonder why someone who’s paid govt money to do diplomacy in Beijing is always in Kampala doing politics. Mayega has always perceived this as a witch-hunt by bosses at Foreign Affairs Ministry. In UPC he was very much favored by Obote who put him on the Presidential Policy Commission (PPC) which run the party as he languished in Lusaka Zambia leading to his death in October 2005. Mayega inspired many young people in opposition as a flamboyant UPC diehard from Makerere where he was a top administrator. He only quit Makerere (where he was mentored by Adonia Tiberondwa) after Baryamureeba became VC (replacing Luboobi) and mistreated him on Katebe. But when still active at Makerere he recruited many young men in the UPC like Higenyi Kemba, Eric Sakwa, Kyeyune Senyonjo, Ivan Rwakaboga, lawyer Julius Galisonga and others. Meanwhile his wife Dr. Florence Nakayiwa remains a big official at Makerere where she is Director Planning and therefore a member of top management. There are rumors that the highly learned Nakayiwa is among the incorruptible persons Museveni intends to deploy at BoU after the much discredited Mutebiles are gone. Mayega comes from a strong family background in Nakasongora and his brothers include John Senyonyi the UCU VC, FDC administrator Wilberforce Kyambadde and ex-AG Peter Nyombi who died recently and the family remained angry a parliamentary session wasn’t held in his honor. Their father was a CoU reverend. Mayega’s posting at KCCA gives Museveni an opportunity to reach out and reconcile the family and the entire Nakasongora community. Being energetic and ambitious to achieve, the much educated Mayega will perhaps do a good job for Museveni at City Hall which is to antagonize Erias Lukwago. This he could excel at doing better than even Musisi who was politically naive and less experienced. Mayega is also fascinated by working out to the extent that every morning he runs/jogs from his home in Ntinda to Makerere at whose Club5 he likes hanging out while taking his favorite drinks.
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