WHO ARE YOU BY THE WAY & WHICH AREA DO YOU REPRESENT? NRM MP Naome Kabasharira Asks as Move to Deflate MP Hakim Kizza Sawula of NUP Fails Badly

By Mulengera Reporters

During the Tuesday plenary session, Bukoto South MP Hakim Kizza Sawula (of NUP) was required to respond to a statement by First Deputy Prime Minister and EAC Affairs Minister Rebecca Kadaga on the currency-related challenges Ugandan traders continue to face while trading in the region as a result of their Tanzanian and Kenyan counterparts demanding to be paid in US dollars or in those respective countries’ currencies and not the Ugandan money.

As he presented his response, Kizza (who started by registering his deep respect for Rebecca Kadaga who he is mandated to keep under check in his capacity as the shadow Minister for EAC affairs) was confronted by the deep-voiced Rushenyi County MP Naome Kabasharira of NRM, who demanded that the Speaker compels him to introduce himself first so that MPs, like herself, who don’t him, get to understand who was standing before them.

Kabasharira said she respects the office Hakim Kizza occupies as a shadow Minister but regretfully she didn’t know him that well. She demanded that he tells the House what his name is and the name of the constituency he represents. More details can be seen in the YouTube video via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqEK0kMVplg.

Oboth-Oboth agreed it was inappropriate for the NUP firebrand not to have started by adequately introducing himself since he is a new legislator barely 6 months on the job. Kabasharira said she was sorry to seem rude but confessed she honestly didn’t know the member even though she regularly sits on the opposition side where he too sits.

If anyone on the NRM side was mischievous enough to anticipate humiliation and deflation, Hakim Kizza (a young man mentored by Mengo) predictably disappointed them. He didn’t lose his composure and took Kabasharira’s demands in good faith.

To his credit, he eloquently introduced himself and the name of his constituency before going on to wonder where Kabasharira (who is old enough to be his mother-our own emphasis) had been all this long not to have become aware of him yet he has been one of those who speak frequently during both plenary and Committee sessions.

After arraying Kabasharira’s fears, Hakim Kizza went ahead to respectfully disagree with some of the contents in Rebecca Kadaga’s statement, without sounding offensive. He had his facts and spoke with composure besides projecting the demeanor of a confident and self-assured legislator.

At the end of his presentation, there was bipartisan support for his views from both NRM and fellow opposition MPs. Many MPs appreciated Kadaga (who currently serves as the Chairperson for EAC Council of Ministers) for setting such high standards and for causing Uganda to earn the respect of partners in the EAC but demanded that Ugandan traders begin to be treated better within the EAC than is currently being the case.

Kadaga admitted there are lots of injustices against EAC citizens from Uganda but was restraining herself from being very combative because she doesn’t want to embarrass her mentor and boss Gen YK Museveni who currently serves as the Chairman of the EAC Summit of Presidents. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).